


Ours Are The Same

by VortexOfEntertainment



Series: Ours Are The Same [1]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-05-30 19:19:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19409722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VortexOfEntertainment/pseuds/VortexOfEntertainment
Summary: Nicole isn't sure she's ready for the high life with famous TV actress Waverly EarpORThe one where Nicole goes to a con for her favorite tv show starring Waverly and they immediately hit it off.





	1. Secular Love

**Author's Note:**

> Nicole knew her mouth was hanging open in shock. She knew that Waverly had directly spoken to her, but she was having trouble believing this was happening.

Nicole’s nerves were getting the best of her. She couldn’t believe she was standing in line to meet _the_ Waverly Earp of the Earp sisters. It was unreal. She might have been last in line, barely making the cut before the autographs were sold out, but she was here, damn it. And that’s all that mattered.

Waverly was the star of Nicole’s favorite show. Well, one of them. The other star was her smartass broody older sister, Wynonna. They also played sisters in a detective show that Nicole absolutely loved. Being a cop herself, she related to a lot that the characters went through. Especially Waverly’s since she was portraying a lesbian cop in a male dominant force. Nicole understood that perfectly. Especially since she had dubbed Purgatory “Patriarchal Bullshit Land.”

Also, fun fact, Wynonna and Waverly were from Purgatory originally. It was how Nicole discovered the show.

She moved up in the line. She couldn’t see her, but she could hear her voice. It was much sweeter in person.

In the back of her head, she felt a bit ridiculous. She was getting so worked up over this actress, that was younger than she was, that probably met people like Nicole daily. She was too old for this. She was 29. Her insecurities were creeping up.

But she felt so seen. She had become a part of this community of people that accepted her for who she is. She had found her people. If anything, she was lucky to be standing where she was. The people she had met through the show were her found family and nothing could take that away from her.

She held her head high as another person said goodbye to Waverly. She could see her now. Her brown hair spilled down in waves and she was even more stunning in person. Nicole could see that she was wearing a black sleeveless crop top with a white lace, also sleeveless, cardigan on over it. Her muscles were shown off well in this outfit and Nicole found herself a little jealous. She had to start working on defining her own arms.

Her heart started to race. She was next and she was beyond nervous. What does someone say to a person that has such an impact on their life, yet they don’t even know each other.

For all Nicole knew, Waverly was completely different than the ‘take-no-shit’ cop she played on television. The star was very quiet on social media and never really posted much unless it had to do with her non-profit, Start the Wave.

Nicole respected that about Waverly. She was very vocal about the environment and about saving it. Her water bottle had even become a staple accessory that fans freaked out over.

When it was finally Nicole’s turn, she stepped up in front of Waverly and looked down at a smile.

Waverly looked up and immediately locked eyes with Nicole.

“H-hi,” Waverly stuttered as she stood up quickly to shake Nicole’s hand.

Nicole was surprised. She hadn’t seen her do that to the other fans. Maybe it was because Nicole was the last one in line? She was pretty sure there was a panel that was supposed to start soon. There were still people at the tables beside them, but she was the last in Waverly’s line.

She reached out and took Waverly’s hand. It was like her body was humming. She couldn’t get over the fact that she was talking to _Waverly Earp_.

“Hi, I’m Nicole.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nicole,” Waverly said with a beaming smile. She sat back down and plucked the picture from Nicole’s hand.

“The pleasure is mine,” Nicole nodded. “I’m sure you’re told this all the time, but your character means so much to me. I’m a cop myself and being a gay cop in a small town isn’t exactly the easiest thing to be.”

“Where do you work?”

“Purgatory, actually,”

“Really?” Waverly asked, almost putting her pen down in shock. She looked up at Nicole. “How did a pretty girl like you find their way there?”

Nicole felt the blood rush to her cheeks. She looked down at her shaking hands with a smile. Did Waverly Earp really just call her pretty?

“It just kind of felt like I was meant to be there,” Nicole answered honestly. “I graduated and immediately saw the posting.”

“Well, I think you’re one of the few that willingly moved to Purgatory,” Waverly smiled.

“I’ve been told that quite a bit,” Nicole chuckled. She watched as Waverly began writing again. She was really good about keeping eye contact when talking.

“Here you go,” Waverly said slowly as she wrote the last little thing on her own photograph. “How long have you been at Purgatory?” Waverly asked. She folded her hand in front of her and looked back up to meet Nicole’s eyes once again.

“A year or so now,” Nicole nodded. She took her picture and looked down on it. She had written a lot and her signature was unreadable but beautiful. Nicole could only make out a ‘W’ and an ‘E’. “Thank you so much.”

“It was really nice to meet you, Nicole.” Waverly smiled again. She stood up and walked around the table, arms stretched out to encircle Nicole.

She couldn’t believe it was actually happening. She felt her heartbeat speed up as Waverly hugged her. She hugged her back, the height difference putting Waverly’s face right at the base of Nicole’s neck.

“Let’s get a selfie,” Waverly said. “Do you have your phone?”

“Oh, um, yeah, of course,” Nicole stammered as she reached for her back pocket. She pulled her phone out and somehow managed to unlock it with shaking hands.

“Here,” Waverly said. She took the phone from Nicole’s hand and gave it to the other woman at the table who Nicole assumed was her handler. “Do you care to take it?”

“Not at all,” the woman replied.

Nicole squatted just a bit so that she was the same height was Waverly. She felt Waverly’s arms wrap around her and she wrapped her own arm around the tiny brunette. She tried to make sure she kept her hand up and in a respectful position. The last thing she wanted to do was accidentally make Waverly uncomfortable in any way.

The woman snapped the picture and handed her phone back to Nicole. Nicole looked at the two of them and at how they actually looked pretty good together. It seemed… natural.

“Oh, that’s wonderful. Could you send that to me?” Waverly asked, as she pointed at the phone but look back to meet Nicole’s eyes again.

“Sure, yeah. I can send it to, like, your handler or manager or something?” Nicole asked as she started a new message thread.

“Here,” Waverly said as she took the phone out of Nicole’s hands once again. She typed in a number and hit send. “There, now, I have to get going. But it really was nice to meet you, Nicole.”

“It was nice to meet you, too!” Nicole nodded and smiled like an idiot. She managed to get her legs to work properly and take her away from Waverly and back down the hallway to meet her friends.

** ** ** ** ** ** **

Nicole sat at the bar with all of her group. She had never laughed or smiled so much as she had that night. She felt right at home. These were her people.

She was in the middle of listening to one of her friends tell a story when she felt her phone buzz.

‘Do you think you could meet me around the pool in twenty?’ the text read.

Oddly enough, it came from whoever Waverly had sent the picture to earlier. Maybe they needed to talk to her about deleting the picture. Maybe she had made some mistake while talking to Waverly and was now being kicked out of the Con.

“Um, I have to go,” Nicole said as she stood up. She laid some money down and apologized to the chorus of no’s she was getting.

She started walking back towards the hotel with her hands shoved deep into her jean pockets. It was still daylight outside, but Nicole gave it about an hour or so until it was dark.

A feeling of dread crept up her throat. Every moment with Waverly was being played over in her head. What had she done wrong? What had she said? She really didn’t want to delete the picture, but she would if it was going to be a problem.

She had no idea how this whole celebrity thing worked. Especially with someone like Waverly. She was a gay icon in Nicole’s opinion. She couldn’t believe she had somehow unknowingly screwed up with a gay icon.

Waverly had even recently come out as bisexual. Maybe that’s why they needed to picture to be deleted? They didn’t want rumors to start spreading rampantly in case it got out. Nicole had no intention of posting it. It was just for her. 

When she reached the hotel, she went straight for the pool. No one was around. Nicole figured if the people weren’t out at a bar, they were catching dinner before heading to the bars. Plus, the pool wasn’t exactly great. It was more of a lap pool

She stood by the water and looked around. She didn’t see anyone. Maybe it was a prank. Maybe someone just wanted to mess with her. She checked her watch. She _was_ a bit early.

Her red flags weren’t waving, at least. She felt at ease, and Nicole had come to trust her gut.

The gate door from the hotel opened and closed. Nicole spun around to finally see who had asked to meet her.

Her heart stopped when she saw Waverly smiling and walking towards her quickly.

“You’re early,” Waverly said as she stopped just a bit in front of Nicole.

Nicole knew her mouth was hanging open in shock. She knew that Waverly had directly spoken to her, but she was having trouble believing this was happening.

“I’m sorry. You text me?” Nicole finally asked.

“I hope that’s okay,” Waverly replied sheepishly.

“Of course, I’m just…” Nicole stopped. She didn’t want to seem rude. “I’m surprised.”

“I have to admit. I don’t do this often.” Waverly took a seat by the pool. “Or at all, actually.”

“Do what, exactly?” Nicole asked as she took a seat in the chair beside her. She still wasn’t sure why she was here or what was happening.

“Ask a pretty fan out to meet me,” Waverly said.

Her face was adorable, Nicole thought. All scrunched up in embarrassment and hope. Nicole honestly couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that someone as beautiful as Waverly wanted to hang out with her.

“I’m honored,” Nicole smirked. “And that’s the second time you’ve called me pretty.”

Waverly laughed. It was like music to Nicole’s ear. 

She was kind of regretting that fourth beer she had drank. Her body was buzzing and her mind was spinning. She was afraid this was all too surreal to actually be happening and the alcohol was playing a horrible, horrible trick on her.

“We should probably get out of here, though,” Waverly said as she stood up and offered Nicole her hands.

Nicole took them gratefully. Waverly’s grip was strong, and the pull she gave to help Nicole up almost had her stumbling forward.

“What were you thinking?” Nicole asked. She looked down at where Waverly was still holding her hands.

The brunette let go quickly, looking around awkwardly. Nicole could see the blush rise in her cheeks and couldn’t help but grin. She made Waverly nervous.

“I don’t really know much to do,” Waverly replied. She finally looked up at Nicole. “I really probably shouldn’t drink, even though I’m pretty sure Wynonna is hammered at the hotel bar.”

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve had a few beers tonight so if I drink any more I’ll be completely drunk,” Nicole said. She was a lightweight. She’ll admit it. Drinking was never part of her routine but she knew how to have a good time when she wanted.

Waverly grinned. There was a certain twinkle in her eyes that Nicole just couldn’t place.

“Are you thinking about taking me out for drinks now?” Nicole asked as she pointed at Waverly. “Because I’m not the one that has to meet hundreds of people and take pictures with them tomorrow.”

“I’m tempted,” Waverly laughed. She looked around the pool, seemingly weighing her options. “Actually, I have some whiskey up in my room. Do you want to maybe just go up there and have a few drinks? I’m a bit exhausted.”

Nicole could see the tiredness on Waverly’s face. She couldn’t imagine what it was like meeting so many strangers in so few hours over a span of only a couple of days.

“Sure,” Nicole nodded. “But I’m telling you. Two shots of whiskey and I am going to be gone.” She watched the smile grow on Waverly’s lips. It made her heart so full to know that she put it there.

“That should be interesting to see, then.” Waverly took her hand and pulled her towards the lobby. Her hand was warm but not sweaty. Nicole was afraid hers were clammy and gross.

Once they were up to the room, Nicole took a set on the bed as Waverly rummaged through the mini fridge. The room wasn’t much fancier than Nicole’s own. Just three floors up and a better view.

“Do you want any?” Waverly asked, holding the bottle up. It was mostly full. The amber liquid sloshed around the bottle as she held two glasses in the other hand.

“Just a little,” Nicole decided. She was in _Waverly Earp’s_ room. She needed a little something to sip on to keep her nerves at bay.

She watched as Waverly poured herself a whole glass and then Nicole less than half of one.

“Wynonna has gotten me used to whiskey since that’s all she drinks,” Waverly said as she handed Nicole her glass.

Nicole immediately lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. The burn almost made her cough but she resisted the urge as Waverly took a seat beside her. She didn’t want Waverly to think she couldn’t hold her liquor, even though she actually probably couldn’t and would regret the drinking part miserably tomorrow.

“I kind of stopped drinking after college,” Nicole confessed. “I went pretty hard my last semester and almost didn’t live to tell the tale.”

“I zoomed through college,” Waverly nodded. She was looking a the glass in her hands. “Did you know I majored in Ancient Cultures and Languages?”

“I did not,” Nicole answered truthfully.

“So, you’re not a super fan that knows all about my past?” Waverly seemed to half joke. Nicole chuckled.

“Actually, I don’t know much about your life. I never really intermingle characters with the people that play them,” Nicole told her. “Like, I don’t look at you and see Daisy. I just see Waverly.”

She looked over and found that Waverly was already staring at her. Nicole couldn’t quite place the look on Waverly’s face. It wasn’t stunned, it wasn’t dismay, but it was a whole range of emotions.

“You don’t know how good that is to hear,” Waverly mumbled as she looked back down at her glass. “I appreciate that, actually.”

“I mean, I came here to meet you and Wynonna because I wanted to thank you for the way you portray my people accurately, or _our_ people. I know there’s a script behind it all, and I’d love to thank the writer for it someday, but you two really know how to capture the emotion or detachment I feel on a daily basis.”

“I’ll be sure to tell her,” Waverly smiled. She finally looked back at Nicole.

It was different this time. She seemed more at ease. It was like a switch had been flipped and she was just herself. Nicole wanted to find out what that meant.

“Thank you,” Nicole nodded as she took another sip of the whiskey. She made a face at the taste and swallowed hard. “God, this stuff is strong.”

She looked over in time to see Waverly hide a smile in her cup as she took a sip. She didn’t make a face or wince at the taste.

“Okay, now you’re just showing off,” Nicole grinned. The room was started to tilt a little bit from side to side.

“You really don’t know anything about me?” Waverly asked.

“No, not anything besides the basics.”

“The basics?”

“Your name is Waverly Earp and you’re an actress and you have a non-profit called Start the Waver,” Nicole said. “Very clever, by the way.”

She leaned back and away from Waverly to set her glass on the end table. When she straightened back up, she did so a little too fast and had to put her hands out to keep the room from falling over.

Waverly giggled beside her. She saw another hand come into her line of vision and take her own. Waverly pulled her hand back down to the bed between but didn’t let go.

“Is this okay?” Waverly asked.

Nicole nodded quickly. Again… way too fast for her drunk brain to handle. She decided that it was best if she just laid back. So, without warning, she fell back onto the bed. She let go of Waverly’s hand to keep from pulling her back as well.

“Nicole?”

“I’m fine,” Nicole reassured her. “There’s just a less chance of me falling over if I lay back.”

She heard Waverly set her glass on the end table on her side of the bed and then settle in beside Nicole. They bold laid there, looking at the ceiling in silence.

Waverly broke the silence, asking Nicole why she wanted to be a cop. Nicole explained, going into probably a little too much detail about her past, but it was easy to do that with Waverly. For some reason, talking to her was as easy as breathing. Nicole really didn’t think it was the alcohol. Even when she was drunk, she wasn’t one for spilling her whole life story.

They talked for what seemed like hours, and when Nicole looked at the clock on her phone she saw that they, in fact, had been talking for hours. It was almost three in the morning.

She knew that she needed to get up and go back to her own room. Waverly needed to sleep with the big day she had tomorrow. But she really didn’t want to. Waverly had taken her hand again at some point and was playing with her fingers. She would run her index finger up Nicole’s hand and then trace each finger lightly. It was soothing and Nicole didn’t want it to stop.

“I should probably get going,” she finally made herself say as she sat up on the bed. She stretched a bit, just now realizing just how stiff she was from not moving for so long.

“It’s already that late?” Waverly asked as she looked past Nicole and to the clock on the wall.

“Yeah, I guess we got a little carried away,” Nicole chuckled.

She stood up and stretched her arms over her head a little more. She felt her shirt rise and when she turned back towards Waverly, found the brunette looking at where her midriff had been.

Waverly looked away quickly, her cheeks blushing over being caught. She stood up and took Nicole’s hand again, leading her towards the door.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” Waverly asked as Nicole rested her open hand on the doorknob.

“I do happen to have a photo op with you at around one tomorrow afternoon,” Nicole told her.

“Oh god,” Waverly groaned as she covered her face. “I feel weird now because you paid for that.”

“So?”

Waverly uncovered her face and looked directly at Nicole. “Let me take you to dinner to make up for it?”

“Waves,” Nicole began to protest. “That’s unnecessary, but I would love to go out with you.”

“We finish up around six tomorrow night. Is that too late?”

“Not for you,” Nicole answered without really thinking about it. She was almost embarrassed until she saw the way Waverly smiled.

“Meet me here around seven thirty? That will give me time to shower and change.”

“Sure thing,” Nicole smiled.

She saw Waverly’s eyes flicker down to her lips before the brunette leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek instead. She was sure that Waverly was going to be able to hear her heart pounding. It was hammering against her chest and Nicole had never been so worked up over a simple kiss on the cheek.

“Goodnight, Nicole,” Waverly said as she let go of Nicole’s hand.

Nicole made her feet take her in the direction out the door instead of scooping Waverly up and kissing her then and there.

“Goodnight, Waverly,” she heard herself say as the brunette closed the door quietly.


	2. Adore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adore by Amy Shark
> 
> "Get me a drink I get drunk off one sip   
> Just so I can adore you  
> I want the entire street out of town   
> Just so I can be alone with you  
> Now go when your ready my heads   
> Getting heavy pressed against your arm  
> I adore you, I adore you"

Nicole was nervous again, but this time it was different. It wasn’t the same nerves she had yesterday over meeting Waverly, the girl who portrayed a character that meant the world to Nicole. No. She was nervous to see Waverly, the girl she stayed up all night talking to and getting to know personally on a new level. The girl she was starting to have real feelings for. 

When she woke up this morning, the hangover wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, but she was certain the night before was a dream. She fully expected to walk into this photo op and for Waverly to have no idea who she was. It would hurt, but a part of her wouldn’t be surprised.

She could see Waverly smiling and interacting with the other fans. She was wearing a black t-shirt with jeans something written across the front in rainbow letters. The sleeves were rolled up slightly and her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. She looked stunning, as always, and Nicole thought it was kind of funny that she had chosen to wear her ‘Representation Matters’ shirt the same day Waverly had chosen to wear rainbow. 

When it was her turn, she stepped up with a nervous smile. Her heart was pounding against her chest. It seemed to be a recurring thing when she was around Waverly. 

Waverly turned, and her face lit up. Nicole couldn’t help but think maybe it looked a little more genuine than the others. It made her feel more at ease instantly.

“Nicole!” Waverly said excitedly as she wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck. 

“You look really good for someone who spent the whole night drinking,” Nicole joked. It was a stupid joke, but it was all she could think of at the moment. Her mind was whirring.

Waverly chuckled, pulling away from Nicole. “I don’t think I was the one drinking. How’s the hangover?” she asked quietly so no one else would hear. 

The secrecy of it all was eating away at Nicole. She knew she couldn’t tell anyone. Waverly was a public figure. That shit would be blown up all over the tabloids. She wanted nothing more than to tell her friends here with her, but she hadn’t. It was hard, but she had gone back to her hotel room the night before and laid awake for a few more hours thinking over every detail of the evening she had spent with Waverly.

“Surprisingly not as bad as I was expecting it to be,” Nicole answered. 

The smile on Waverly’s face made Nicole lose her train of thought. She forgot where she was and why she was there. All she could think was just how beautiful that smile truly was.

“So, what are we going to be doing?” Waverly asked as she pulled Nicole to the mark on the carpet. 

“Oh, um, nothing special. Just a regular photo,” Nicole nodded. She decided against some of the more extravagant ideas she had, especially after last night. She didn’t want to make things uncomfortable or weird later for their date.

_Holy shit she was going on a date with Waverly Earp._

“Are you sure?” Waverly asked. She was holding both of Nicole’s hands now. 

“Positive, we can take a cute selfie tonight when we’ve both refreshed and maybe had a drink or two,” Nicole suggested. Waverly smiled again, leaving Nicole breathless… again.

“Over here you guys,” the photographers said as she began to count down.

The photo was snapped, and Nicole let go of Waverly reluctantly.

“I’ll see you later?” Waverly asked in the same low voice.

“Absolutely, just text me when you’re ready,” Nicole nodded.

“I can’t wait!”

Nicole walked past the curtain again, but this time in the opposite direction. She looked around at the crowd of people.

She took a deep breath. Nicole found that when she was getting overwhelmed, it helped if she just took a second to actually breathe. She did it often when at work when the paperwork started to pile up or when dealing with a particularly loud, drunk, homophobic civilian.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She looked down at the numerous notifications blowing up her screen. The group chat was buzzing with content and Nicole couldn’t help but smile at her friends’ freakouts. If only they knew about her night and the date that was actually going to happen.

She felt a knot form in her stomach. What was she going to wear? Where were they going to go? How were they supposed to stay unnoticed? So many questions began to run through her head. She couldn’t seem to focus on just one. Was this the right thing to do?

“Hey,” she heard from behind her. She turned to see Abbie, one of her new friends, walking towards her. “Did you get a picture with Waverly?”

“Yeah,” Nicole nodded. “Hey, um, you wouldn’t happen to want to go shopping, would you?”

“Right now?”

“Maybe in a couple of hours? I just have to be back and ready before seven.”

“Oooh, hot date?” Abbie asked as she poked at Nicole.

“Maybe,” Nicole blushed.

“Oh my god! Who is it? Do I know her? Tell me everything!”

“Let’s just leave it at hot date right now,” Nicole decided. “I don’t want to jinx it.”

“Fine,” Abbie huffed. “Meet you in the lobby around four?”

“Sounds good,” Nicole nodded, and she watched Abbie walk past her and to the line to get her own picture made with Waverly. If only she knew.

** ** ** ** ** ** **

Later that night, Nicole looked at herself in the mirror. The outfit she and Abbie had chosen was one that she actually felt comfortable in. She decided her jeans would have to suffice, but she did buy a leather jacket to wear over a plain white shirt. It was nice but not _too_ nice, and Nicole had been wanting a nice leather jacket.

Nicole really hated getting ready for dates. Especially the first ones. She was afraid it would be too much or not enough. There was no in-between really. At least not in her experience. And they were always so awkward.

Nicole remembered her first date with her now-ex Shae. They had gone to the movies. A typical first date. Except she had dropped ice cream on her new pants and knocked over Shae’s drink. It wasn’t the best, but they made it work. She was young when she dated Shae. They ended on good terms. It was best for both of them.

But Waverly?

There was just something about her. The way she smiled at Nicole and the way she poured her heart into her work. Nicole learned the night before just how vulnerable she had to be sometimes in front of her fans, and how she was still working on being okay with that. Nicole never realized how emotionally exhausting it must be to always be on display like Waverly.

She jumped at the sound of her phone dinging in her hand. She looked down at Waverly’s name on the screen.

‘ _Ready in ten_ ’

Nicole smiled. She looked at herself one last time in the mirror before heading out the door.

She made her way to the elevator and stepped in, hitting the button for Waverly’s floor and wringing her hands together once the doors closed. She spun the ring on her thumb around.

She wondered what Waverly had in store for them. She insisted that she had it all planned. She was a planner after all.

When the door dinged open, Nicole stepped out. She didn’t feel as nervous as she thought she would. It felt natural, going to pick up Waverly for a date. It was like she had done it a thousand times before.

She knocked on the door and took a step back to wait. The moment Waverly opened the door, it was like all of the anxiety and eagerness hit Nicole at once, along with about a thousand butterflies in her stomach.

Waverly was dressed in a white off the shoulder dress with blue flowers. Her hair was down, and she was already showing Nicole that smile.

God, that smile.

“You look…” Nicole started but couldn’t seem to find the right words. She needed something stronger than beautiful. She felt like it was too used. “…stunning,” she settled on.

“Why thank you, my darling,” Waverly giggled as she stepped out of the room. “You look pretty snazzy yourself,” she added. She looked Nicole over as she shut the door to her room.

Waverly immediately grabbed Nicole’s hand and started walking them towards the elevator. Once they were inside, Waverly pulled her close, taking both of her hands.

“So, I have reservations at a restaurant down the street. I thought that maybe we could walk there? I love walking and the outdoors, and I haven’t gotten to see the city all that much.”

“Of course,” Nicole nodded. She loved seeing Waverly this excited.

The way she was looking at her dreamily was adorable. She felt Waverly squeeze her hands. She leaned up and placed a kiss on Nicole’s cheek again.

“Good,” Waverly smirked.

The door slid open and they both stepped out. Before they could reach the main lobby, Nicole felt Waverly yank her behind an oversized plant and behind the wall.

“Whoa,” Nicole gasped as she registered what was happening. Waverly had her pressed up _against_ the wall and was peeking around the corner. “What’s happening right now?”

“Wynonna,” Waverly whispered.

Nicole noticed Waverly’s touch on her abdomen and how she was pressed against her. She had to admit, she wasn’t mad about the proximity, but she was still confused as to what was happening.

“I’m lost,” Nicole whispered back.

Waverly turned her head to look at her and seemed to realize just how close their faces were. Nicole saw her eyes flicker down to her lips.

“Wynonna is in the lobby with some fans,” Waverly elaborated. She took a half step back, keeping her hands pressed against Nicole’s stomach.

Nicole felt Waverly’s fingers bend slightly, almost as if she was scratching her gently.

“If she sees us, she’ll go all Wynonna,” Waverly told her.

Nicole couldn’t help but laugh at Waverly’s tone. “All Wynonna?” Nicole asked.

“You’ll see soon enough,” Waverly grinned. She shook her head slightly and peeked around the corner again. “Come on, I know another way out.”

“I feel so scandalous!” Nicole laughed as Waverly drug her towards a side door. “Sneaking around is so teenagerish.”

By the time they made it outside, they were both giggling all over themselves. Waverly leaned into Nicole, still holding her hand and rested her head on her shoulder. The wedges she was wearing brought her closer, but not quite, to Nicole’s level.

“Is teenagerish so bad?” Waverly asked as she looked up to Nicole.

“Not at all,” Nicole answered. She used her open hand to hold the bend of Waverly’s elbow.

The two walked in silence for a minute, holding onto each other as if they couldn’t get close enough. Nicole really did feel like a teenager but in a good way. The best way, really. The puppy love was blooming inside of her. The thought filled her with a type of joy she couldn’t understand.

She knew, though, that she needed to get a hold on it. Falling too fast too soon was dangerous. It could be painful.

“Here,” Waverly said as she turned into a restaurant. “Reservation for Waverly,” she told the person standing behind the podium

“Right this way, ma’am,” he said after checking a name off the list.

The restaurant was somewhere between fancy and casual. Nicole didn’t think it warranted a reservation, but she knew that Waverly needed a plan.

They were seated towards the back in a darker corner. Waverly sat across from her as they listened to the waiter go through his usual spill and give them menus.

“They have really great vegan options here,” Waverly said as she read over the menu.

Nicole noticed she was chewing on her thumbnail. The thought that she made Waverly nervous had her smiling slightly. She reached forward and pulled Waverly’s hand away from her mouth, holding it across the table.

Waverly looked up at her and smile sheepishly.

“Sorry.”

“You’re don’t have to apologize,” Nicole told her. “You’re nervous?”

“Maybe a little,” Waverly shrugged. “It’s been a while since I’ve been on a first date.”

“Same here,” Nicole assured her. “A year or two, actually.”

“Really?”

“Purgatory isn’t exactly the hopping place for lesbians,” Nicole reminded her as she looked down at her menu.

“Oh, I know,” Waverly chuckled lightly. “Purgatory Pride is getting better though, I see.”

“They try,” Nicole nodded with a smile.

The waiter came back, and they placed their orders. Waverly leaned forward on her elbows and looked at Nicole with a grin.

“So, tell me all about my beloved town,” she said as she sipped on her water.

“There’s not really much to tell,” Nicole answered, leaning forward and placing her hands under her chin. She just felt an urge to be closer to Waverly. “Crime isn’t exactly booming, Shorty’s is still thriving, and the homophobic slash conservative mayor just won a new term.”

“Bunny Loblow is still alive?” Waverly asked.

“Oh, very much so. Yes,” Nicole nodded. She sat back, taking her water and sucking on the straw. “She’s not so bad sometimes. She brought Nedley cookies once that were very delicious.”

“Oh, how’s Chrissy?” Waverly asked eagerly, absentmindedly reaching across the table. Her hands fell just in front of Nicole but didn’t touch her. “She and I used to be besties. I haven’t seen her in years.”

“She’s traveling somewhere, I think,” Nicole answered. “Nedley hasn’t really said much about her.”

“He’s not much of a talker, is he?”

“It’s just who he is,” Nicole smiled. She sat back up and rested her hands on the table, so the next time Waverly reached across she would be ready. “You are kind of big deal there, you know.”

“Oh, stop it,” Waverly blushed.

“You are!” Nicole laughed. “People stop whatever they’re doing to watch your show. There’re pictures of you in Shorty’s now. And Wynonna… but considerably a less amount.”

“That town never really liked her,” Waverly looked down at her hands. Nicole could tell her smile was forced. “She was a bit of a troublemaker after our dad and older sister died.”

Nicole could see Waverly’s demeanor falter just a bit before she pulled herself back together. If there’s one thing she was learning about Waverly Earp rather quickly, it was that her acting was impeccable. On and off the screen.

She always put others first. Nicole could tell that from the stories she told the night before, and just by interacting with her the past two days. She did the things that made her uncomfortable for someone else’s benefit. She put herself out there in a way she didn’t necessarily want to for the entertainment of others. She made sure everyone else as happy before she took the time to even think of herself.

Nicole reached out and took Waverly’s hand again. She let her thumb skim over Waverly’s skin, back and forth, in a soothing motion.

“I’m so sorry,” Nicole said quietly.

“No, it’s fine. There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Waverly shook her head.

“Waves,” Nicole said. She wanted Waverly to look at her. When her blue-green eyes met Nicole’s brown eyes, she squeezed her hand. “It’s okay to not be okay,” she told her.

She could see the effect her words had on Waverly. The way they seemed to seep into her. Tears started to form, but Waverly quickly blinked them away.

“What are you doing to me, Haught?” Waverly asked with a fake laugh. Nicole knew she was just trying to change the subject.

“I just want you to know that you don’t have to put on a front for me,” Nicole said. “You can just be Waverly.”

“I’m not sure I know what that means anymore,” Waverly said quietly. She was looking down again. Nicole wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around her to comfort her.

Waverly’s phone started to buzz, and she quickly took the opportunity to let go of Nicole’s hands and look at it.

“It’s Wynonna,” Waverly said as she read the text. “She’s wondering where I am.”

“Tell her you’re exploring,” Nicole offered.

She wasn’t exactly sure why Waverly was keeping this from Wynonna, but she wasn’t going to force her to tell her sister anything he didn’t want to. Even if Nicole was starting to feel like just a secret.

“No, I’ll tell her I’m on a date,” Waverly said as if it was the most obvious answer. “I just didn’t want to run into her at the hotel because we never would have gotten away. She would have interrogated you and probably threatened you. Which, both of those things will still happen when you do meet her.”

“She’s very protective, I take it,” Nicole laughed.

Knowing Waverly was trying to spare her the trouble of Wynonna made her heart warm. She was serious about this. She even wanted Nicole to _meet_ Wynonna someday. She smiled at the girl in front of her as she texted her sister back.

“She’s going to _freak_ ,” Waverly grinned as she locked her phone and shoved it into her purse.

Before Nicole could say anything else, the waiter brought their food.

They chatted a little bit more as they ate, but mostly it was silent. It was a good silence, though. A comfortable one. Nicole had never met anyone that it was just so easy to be with. She would steal glances at Waverly and sometimes find the girl already looking at her.

She learned that Waverly was fluent in four languages and that her parents wanted to initially name her ‘Welcome.’ She learned that Waverly used to have a pet hamster named Pikachu that she assumed was still buried in the yard where she laid him to rest almost 15 years ago and that she had an extensive bucket list which included sky diving and eating geoduck.

On their walk back to the hotel, Nicole found Waverly holding onto her arm again and leaning into her as they strolled. It was perfect.

“I don’t want this night to end,” Waverly said quietly as they reentered the hotel.

“If this night doesn’t end, then we’ll never get to experience all the other magical days and nights ahead of us,” Nicole replied as she hit the elevator button. “I will say, this _has_ been the best first date I’ve ever been on.”

“I can honestly say the same,” Waverly replied as they stepped into the elevator.

Nicole wanted to kiss her. She wanted the elevator doors to close, to look into those beautiful eyes, and to kiss Waverly gently and slowly. The way a first kiss should be.

But, instead, a few other people joined them in the elevator. Two of which were fans of Waverly. Nicole could tell just by how they were whispering and casting glances their way.

Waverly didn’t seem to mind though. She kept her hand firmly in Nicole’s, running her thumb up and down over her skin.

“We’re so sorry to bother you,” one of the girls finally spoke. “But can we maybe get a picture?”

“Of course,” Waverly smiled as she let go of Nicole’s hand. She got between the two girls and took a selfie just as the elevator door dinged open on her floor.

The girls thanked her and watched as Waverly and Nicole left the elevator and started down the hall, hand in hand.

“Does that ever bother you?” Nicole asked once they were out of earshot of the elevators.

“Not really. As long as they’re not being sneaky about it, I’m okay. I love meeting fans,” Waverly answered as she looked over at Nicole.

They stopped in front of Waverly’s door. Nicole watched as she put the keycard in front of the reader and pushed it open when the light turned green. Waverly turned back to face Nicole and smiled.

“I really had a great time,” she said as she reached out for Nicole’s hands once again.

“I did, too,” Nicole answered truthfully. She meant it when she said the date was the best she ever had. She wanted, needed, more. “Will you be in town after the convention?”

“Yeah, Wynonna and I are having a little mini-vacation afterward.”

“I’ll be in town a couple of days too, and I was looking at the local maps and I think there are some trails not too far from here. Do you want to maybe go hiking one day? We can carry lunch and make it a picnic.”

Nicole had been thinking about it since she learned Waverly also loved the outdoors. There was still a nagging insecurity that Waverly would say no, though.

“I would love to.” If it was possible, Waverly’s smiled wider and dazzled Nicole instantly. It was like it set her in a trance and she would do just about anything to make it stay.

Before she could chicken out, she leaned forward. She was met halfway by Waverly who immediately kissed her back.

The kiss was magical. Nicole could feel it in every fiber of her being. The softness of Waverly’s lips against hers sent chills down her spine. She let go over Waverly’s hand to rest it on her jaw instead, holding her in place.

Once she pulled away, she left her hand on the side of Waverly’s face and kept her eyes shut for an extra second. She wanted to soak up every feeling she was having and store it away in her memory. She didn’t’ think she’d be forgetting the experience any time soon, if ever.

When she opened her eyes, she was met with Waverly’s already looking at her. That grin was smug, and her heart flipped when Waverly leaned forward and placed one more blissful kiss on Nicole’s lips.

“I’ll text you tomorrow?” Waverly asked.

“Bright and early,” Nicole answered.

Waverly slid her arms around Nicole’s torso with ease and pulled her into a hug. Before she pulled away, Nicole placed a kiss on Waverly’s forehead.

“Goodnight, Waves.”

“Goodnight, Nicole.”

Waverly backed into her room, holding onto Nicole’s hand until the last second. When the door closed, Nicole couldn’t contain her happiness any longer. She smiled bigger than she thought she had ever smiled and started off down the hall with a little skip in her step.

She got to her room and went through her nightly routine in a haze. She had _kissed Waverly Earp_. And it was the best kiss she had ever experienced. She could still feel it and she was already craving more.


	3. She's A Motormouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's A Motormouth by The Go Getters

“EXCUSE ME,” Abbie yelled as soon as she saw Nicole.

Nicole jumped, startled by the sudden loudness in the hotel lobby. “It’s too early for you to be this excited over something.”

Abbie held her phone up, showing the picture of Waverly’s Instagram post from the night before.

“Were you going to tell me that you had a date with FREAKING–”

Nicole covered her mouth before she had a chance to finish her sentence. There were entirely too many people in the lobby eating breakfast for her to scream out Waverly’s name.

“I can explain, just keep your voice down,” Nicole whispered. She held eye contact until Abbie finally nodded. “Are you good?” Nicole asked, just to make sure. Abbie nodded again. “Okay, yes. I went on a date with Waverly last night.”

Abbie squealed and Nicole quickly covered her mouth again.

“Dude!”

“I’m sorry,” Abbie laughed as she pushed Nicole’s hand away from her mouth. “This is just exciting! What was it like? Is she great?”

“It was incredible,” Nicole said. She could hear the dream-like tone of her own voice and if she wasn’t the one feeling what she was feeling then it would have made her sick.

But that’s just how it was when it came to Waverly. Nicole found herself, over the span of just two days, tumbling head over heels for the youngest Earp. Her mind would constantly wander to the night before, or wonder what Waverly was doing or if she was having a good day. She wanted to kiss her again and eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with her. She couldn’t wait for their picnic date in a couple of days.

“Oh my God, Nicole,” Abbie said, pulling her out of her trance. “I need more than that!”

“I can’t really talk about it,” Nicole told her. “You have to swear to keep this a secret. No one can know yet.” Nicole held her pinky out for her friend to take.

“I promise,” Abbie nodded and hooked her pinky around Nicole’s. “I can’t believe I helped you pick out an outfit for a date with... _her._ If I would have known, we would have gotten you something a little fancier.”

“What? Did I not look okay?” Nicole asked. She knew she looked fine, but poking fun at Abbie was always fun.

“No! You looked great! I’m just saying.” Abbie shrugged and Nicole laughed. “So, are you going to the panel later today?”

“Yeah, are you?” Nicole asked as she took a bite from her bagel.

“Yep, do you think you can get us front row seats?” Abbie joked.

“Shut it,” Nicole warned with a smile. “We’re not talking about this. I told you that already.

“I’m just teasing,” Abbie smirked.

Nicole felt her phone buzz beside her. She looked down at the name on her phone and suppressed the smile when she saw that it was Waverly.

_‘Can you meet me in the autograph room in ten? I told them to let you through.’_

_‘On my way’_ Nicole replied.

She locked her phone and started to gather her things.

“You’re leaving already?” Abbie asked, disappointed.

“Yeah, I’ll see you at the panel, okay?”

“Fine,” Abbie huffed. Nicole ruffled her hair a bit on her way by. She grabbed a handful of grapes from the buffet as she passed and headed towards the autograph station.

Once she was there, she told the people at the door her name and they let her by without question. It was only Waverly in the room. She was leaned up against the table with her picture behind it. When she looked up and saw Nicole, she grinned and immediately reached out for a hug.

“What’s going on?” Nicole asked as she let go of Waverly.

Before the brunette answered, she lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed Nicole gently. It was a quick kiss, but Nicole savored every second of it.

“You taste sweet,” Waverly said as she slid her arms around Nicole.

“I just ate some grapes,” Nicole told her with a laugh. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I just wanted to see you before this crazy day started,” Waverly confessed. “Panels make me kind of nervous.”

“Well, if there’s anything you need throughout the day just let me know and I’ll do it.”

“I have people for that,” Waverly smiled. “God that sounded awful," she seemed to mumbled to herself. "Anyway, I shouldn’t be calling my–” Waverly stopped, a horrified look on her face.

Nicole tilted her head to the side with an amused grin.

“I, um,” Waverly looked down at where her arms rested around Nicole’s waist. “I just have people that already do that.”

“Uh-huh,” Nicole nodded.

Waverly looked back up at her and laughed nervously. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” Nicole asked. She removed her grasp on Waverly’s hips and poked at her stomach.

“All smug and shit,” Waverly giggled. She grabbed Nicole’s hands and held them firmly against her, pulling Nicole closer in the process.

Their lips were just inches apart. Nicole couldn’t stop her gaze from shifting down and really just looking at Waverly’s lips. They were perfect, just like everything else about her. She could see that they had a little bit of red color to them. She wondered if her lips were tinted now from their last kiss.

She couldn’t take it anymore. She leaned down and closed the distance between them, kissing Waverly like she had wanted to kiss her all night. It was Waverly, though, who deepened the kiss. Letting go of Nicole’s hands to grip her jaw.

The first real taste of Waverly had Nicole spinning. The brunette’s tongue slid easily past her lips and the little moan Waverly released made Nicole grip the front of the brunette's shirt to keep her hands from wandering.

When she had to pull back for air, she felt Waverly’s thumb skim over her jaw, making goosebumps form along her neck. She kissed her one more time, quickly.

“I should probably go before everyone gets here,” Nicole said.

Waverly’s eyes were still closed when Nicole pulled back to look at her. She was smiling and biting her lower lip. Waverly’s hand went back and slid under Nicole’s hair. She tangled her fingers in it as she opened her eyes. There was a new fire there, a flicker of something Nicole had never seen.

“I’ll text you later?”

“Please,” Nicole smiled. She took a step away from Waverly.

Her hand slid from Nicole’s hair and all the way down her arms as she backed away. Nicole gave Waverly’s hand a little squeeze before turning around completely and making her way out of the autograph room.

** ** ** ** ** ** **

The day went by quickly. Nicole spent the day with her friends and constantly checking her phone for any word from Waverly. She knew she was busy, but she still wanted to just check in every now and then.

“I love the gay look you have going on,” Chase told Nicole as she and Abbie met up with him outside of the panel room. “It’s on-brand.”

Nicole looked down at her black jeans and denim shirt with the rolled-up sleeves.

“Wait,” Abbie said as she reached for Nicole’s hat. She spun it around and put it back on Nicole’s head backward. “There. Fixed it.”

Nicole rolled her eyes and readjusted her hat a bit to feel more comfortable. She kept it backward though. It was a good look.

They all went into the panel room and split up to find their seats. Nicole found herself in the back corner. Which, she was fine with. She could see the stage well and was afraid if she was sitting closer to the front it would make Waverly more nervous.

She looked down at her phone and decided to send a text even though she hadn’t heard from Waverly all day.

‘ _You’re going to do great :)’_

She left it at that and hit send. She looked around at the crowd that was filling the room. The seats next to her were occupied quickly with excited fans.

The more they talked about the Earp sisters, the less Nicole was able to believe that she was actually dating one.

She tried to occupy her time by scrolling through social media. Her timeline was flooded with pictures of Waverly, Wynonna, and other cast members from the photo ops.

Finally, when the lights dimmed and the intro video started rolling, Nicole sat up and watched the screen. Her phone buzzed about midway through the video.

‘ _Where are you?_ ’ read the text from Waverly.

 _‘Back corner to your left’_ Nicole replied.

The read receipt came on and as soon as Waverly and Wynonna were introduced and walked out onto the stage, Nicole watched as Waverly searched. She even stopped mid-stage to shield her eyes from the light and look out into the crowd.

Nicole lifted her hand in a wave in a weak attempt to catch Waverly’s attention. She thought there was no way Waverly would pick her out of the humongous crowd of screaming fans, but she did. Waverly almost immediately made eye contact with Nicole and it was like a wave of relief washed over her. Nicole watched her physically relax. She smiled and waved slightly.

“Oh my god, she waved at me!” the girl next to Nicole gushed as she grabbed her friend’s hand.

“Yeah right,” her friend scoffed jokingly.

“She totally did.”

Nicole grinned to herself and sat back down as the crowd continued to scream.

If Nicole was being honest with herself, she felt a sense of pride for Waverly. She had never felt so connected with someone in her life. They had only known each other for a short period of time, but she already felt this natural high when she was just in the same room as Waverly.

The panel started smoothly. Wynonna was being the usual jokester, poking fun at Waverly and bringing her little sister out of her shell slowly.

Nicole noticed a sense of ease when Waverly was with Wynonna. She was more herself and seemed to be more comfortable. It was obvious how much she looked up to her older sister.

She listened to the two sisters answer the lighthearted questions and really work the crowd. She watched Waverly fiddle with the lid of her water bottle and wanted nothing more than to hold her hands to keep her calm.

Every now and then, Waverly would look out over the crowd in Nicole’s direction. When she did, Nicole would try to sit a little taller so that she could maybe make eye contact with her. Once she did and Nicole’s natural reaction was to just wink. Waverly had to suppress a smile and look down to hide the blush creeping up on her cheeks.

“Have you guys gotten to see the town yet?” the moderator asked.

“Well, I haven’t,” Wynonna answered as she looked over at Waverly.

“I’ve seen a little bit,” Waverly answered carefully. “Last night I got to go out and it was truly beautiful.”

“The town or your date?” Wynonna asked, lifting one eyebrow.

Nicole’s heart dropped into her stomach.

“Is it cheesy to answer both?” Waverly asked with a bit of a grin. She looked out at the crowd when everyone either laughed or awed at her answer.

“Gross,” Wynonna replied. “And don’t think I’m not questioning every redhead here today,” she told her sister causing Waverly to cover her face.

Nicole had never been happier to be wearing a hat that covered most of her hair in her life. The last thing she wanted was to be called out in front of what seemed like hundreds of people. She sunk down in her chair a bit, feeling her cheeks light up from embarrassment.

“When we’re ready we’ll make it official,” Nicole heard Waverly say. She looked back up to see the brunette looking at her older sister.

“I’m just joking,” Wynonna said. She nudged Waverly’s shoulder.

The rest of the panel went by quickly it seemed after that. Nicole was ready to get out of there as soon as it concluded.

Being the center of attention was not what Nicole wanted. She usually liked to blend into the background. It was part of her job sometimes. Going undercover was always simple for her because she was good at just hanging back and observing. It was where she was comfortable.

The thought of being thrust into the spotlight with Waverly hadn’t even crossed her mind. It was an aspect of the brunette’s life she would have to get used to. It would take adjustment. That was if it were to all work out between them. Maybe this was just a fling while they were at the con. Maybe it would turn into nothing the moment Nicole got on her flight back to Purgatory.

She found herself back in her room. She immediately turned the shower on and stripped out of her clothes. The thought of steaming hot water pelting her skin and melting away all of the thoughts bringing her down sounded heavenly.

Even during the freakout, she was having, Nicole couldn’t ignore the way Waverly made her feel. She knew she was getting ahead of herself. They had been on one official date. That’s it, but it was okay to dream, right? Nicole could hypothesize over what would happen if they continued with the budding relationship they were building.

She thought about stepping into this life with Waverly. What it would mean for her, for her job, and for Waverly. Nicole didn’t want to leave her position at Purgatory. It wasn’t ideal or where she saw herself when she thought about joining a police force, but it was her home now. Everything in her life that was good came from that tiny town.

A loud knocking on the door pulled her from her thoughts. She cut the shower off and stepped out.

“Just a second!” she yelled as the person started to knock again.

She wrapped a towel and tucked it around her chest. She grabbed a smaller one to start drying off her hair.

Nicole opened the door and froze.

Of course, it was Waverly.

“Hey, I just–” Waverly started but stopped when she seemed to realize Nicole was only in a towel. “Oh, um… wow, I mean… shit,” Waverly shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. Her cheeks immediately turned red and her mouth hung open slightly. She looked Nicole up and down before seemingly forcing herself to meet Nicole’s eyes. “I can come back.”

“No, don’t be silly,” Nicole answered with a grin. It was a little fun watching Waverly get all flustered over her. She reached out and pulled Waverly into the room. “What are you doing here?” Nicole asked as she shut the door. She turned and walked past Waverly and further into her room.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Waverly said. Nicole could still hear the nerves in her voice. Or maybe it was something else.

“About?” Nicole asked. She dug through her suitcase until she found some sweats and a Purgatory Sheriff’s Department t-shirt.

“Well,” Waverly said. She turned as Nicole walk past her again and into the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror, consciously deciding to leave the door open while she toweled off and changed.

“I’m still listening,” she called out when Waverly didn’t continue.

“Right, yeah,” she heard Waverly say. “Um, I just wanted to check in with you after the panel. I had no idea Wynonna was going to bring us up like that.”

_Us._

Nicole liked the sound of that.

She pulled her clothes on quickly and ran a towel over her hair one last time before stepping back out of the bathroom.

“Yeah, that was unexpected,” Nicole said, a half-smile on her face.

Waverly was sitting on the very edge of Nicole’s made up bed. She kept a tidy room. It was one of the things that really just seemed to stick from the police academy.

“I’m so sorry,” Waverly apologized again.

Nicole took a seat next to Waverly facing her. She reached over and grabbed Waverly’s hand.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Nicole said. She pulled Waverly’s hand up to her lips and kissed her knuckles. “I do think we should talk about this though at some point.”

“Yeah?” Waverly asked with a hopeful tone.

“Yeah,” Nicole assured her. “I really, really like you, Waverly Earp.”

“I really, really like you, too,” Waverly sighed.

“Are we crazy?” Nicole asked. She didn't really mean to. It just slipped out.

The feelings she felt were real, but they seemed too much too soon. She didn't know whether to embrace them or run in the opposite direction.

Even though it was all beyond crazy, she had been told recently that it didn’t matter how long someone was in your life. Everyone impacts you differently, and Waverly Earp was like a fucking asteroid crashing into Nicole’s world.

“Maybe?” Waverly answered with a giggle. “But who cares? Who makes the rules?”

“No one?”

“We make the rules.”

“Yeah we do,” Nicole laughed as she placed a kiss on Waverly’s forehead.

“So, we’re officially dating?” Waverly asked quietly.

Nicole smiled. Instead of answering right away, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Waverly’s.

She wanted nothing more than to date this beautiful girl. The insecurities that were plaguing her before quickly became nothing when she felt Waverly kiss her back tenderly. It was all she needed.

“Yes,” Nicole finally whispered against Waverly’s lips.

The brunette kissed her with more fervor. Waverly leaned forward until her body was pressed against Nicole’s and her hands were tangled in her wet red locks.

Nicole had no choice but to slide her hands back and wrap her arms around Waverly. She let her hands roam up and down her muscular back. She finally let them rest around Waverly’s waist, but not for long.

She eased the brunette back in one swift motion and laid her down flat on her back. She propped herself up, breaking the kiss to look down at the beauty that was Waverly Earp beneath her.

Her heart pounded harder in her chest. She truly was a vision. Her beautiful mane of hair was spread out across Nicole’s pillow. Her face was content. Her lips were a little pink and swollen from the kissing. Her eyes were searching Nicole’s. She bit her lower lip until finally reaching up wordlessly and pulling Nicole down to kiss again.

Nicole wasn’t going to protest, but she also wasn’t going to attempt and take it anywhere further. She was extremely happy just kissing the youngest Earp at the moment. She was learning what Waverly did and didn't like. What she tasted like. How she kissed and what she meant by each one. 

Waverly seemed to be on the same page. Even though the kiss was heated, neither tried to take it any further.

This kissed for what felt like hours, but Nicole was sure it wasn’t long enough. But, against every fiber in her being, she was the one that slowed it down until she pulled away and placed a peck on Waverly’s nose.

“You have an early morning again tomorrow,” Nicole said quietly as she lowered herself onto the bed beside Waverly and rolled over onto her back.

Waverly curled up against Nicole, making herself comfortable in the redhead’s arms. Nicole pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head.

“What if I just stayed here tonight?” Waverly asked. “Just to sleep,” she clarified.

“If you want to, I’d love that,” Nicole answered.

Waverly shuffled until she was completely under the covers. Nicole reached over and turned off the lamp before sliding under the covers too. She turned on her side to face Waverly. They were nose to nose but Nicole could barely see her.

It wasn’t until her eyes adjusted that she could make out Waverly studying her as well. A smile crept on her lips as she saw the brunette’s blinks get longer and longer.

Finally, Waverly was asleep, and Nicole couldn’t believe her night. Hell, she couldn’t believe her life right now. This was the last thing she expected when she showed up Friday morning to attend a con for her favorite tv show.

But she wasn’t complaining. How could she? She had an angel sleeping next to her and they had just made it ‘official’ they were dating… whatever that meant.

Nicole reached out and pulled Waverly into her arms. Waverly nuzzled her head under Nicole’s chin and sighed contently. Finally, Nicole fell asleep feeling happier than she had ever felt before.


	4. You Take My Breath Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You Take My Breath Away by Queen
> 
> "Every time you make a move  
> You destroy my mind  
> And the way you touch  
> I lose control and shiver deep inside  
> You take my breath away"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a Monday morning. We all deserve some Wayhaught cuteness.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr (@vortexofentertainment) or Twitter (@vortentertain) for the extra stuff that goes with the chapters.

Waverly was exhausted. Cons were great and she loved them more than anything, they were actually becoming her favorite part of the job, but they really wore her out. She knew, however, that this was just the beginning of her journey through con season. She was ready for the others, but she just needed a couple of days to relax before heading back home and then off to another.

She was excited to spend the next couple of days with her sister, exploring the unknown and learning what there was to learn about the city they were in.

And then there was Nicole. Waverly never expected her. She didn’t see the redhead coming. But once she looked up and made contact with those beautiful brown eyes at the autograph table, everything changed.

She knew that fairytales were over the top, but when she looked at Nicole it was like she knew what all the hubbub was about. The world stopped turning around her, the noise faded out, and all she could focus on was the nervous grin and that damn dimple.

It was the thought of only seeing Nicole for a couple of more days that had her wandering around the hotel lobby. She had already tried knocking on her door, but Nicole wasn’t there. She figured she might still be saying goodbye to her friends, or maybe she was out of the hotel completely.

Waverly could just text her, but she didn’t want to intrude. She knew the post-con blues were real and had an inkling Nicole would be experiencing that right about now. She talked constantly about the friends she had made through the show. Which was wild to Waverly. It was another thing she loved so much about it all.

“Hey baby girl,” Wynonna said coming up behind Waverly in the lobby. “What are you doing down here?”

“Nothing,” Waverly lied. She couldn’t keep her eyes from searching though. She could see Wynonna’s signature shit-eating grin in her peripheral vision.

“You’re looking for Red, aren’t you?” Wynonna asked as she turned to look as well. “See who finds her first?”

“Wynonna,” Waverly warned.

“She has red hair, about yea tall?” Wynonna asked putting her hand up just a tad over her own head to indicate Nicole’s height. 

“Um, yeah,” Waverly answered, confused.

“She’s at the bar.” Wynonna turned to Waverly who immediately swiveled to look in that direction. “I better meet her before she leaves. I’ve never seen you so gooey over someone.”

“We’ll see,” Waverly grinned as Wynonna made her way back towards the elevator.

“I mean it!” Wynonna said loudly just before the elevator doors closed.

Waverly smiled even bigger. Her older sister could protest all she wanted, but Waverly knew Wynonna had a soft spot for her.

She made her way towards the bar, trying not to look too eager to get there. She couldn’t explain why she was drawn to Nicole so strongly, but it was getting harder and harder to hide it. Every part of her wanted to give in to the craziness of it, but her anxiety-riddled brain still had her pumping on the breaks. She had to be careful. Especially in the line of work she was in. And Nicole _did_ come to the con to see her… and Wynonna… but she wasn’t dating Wynonna.

“Hey, you,” Waverly said as she took the seat next to Nicole.

She looked sad, and maybe a little drunk. Waverly was learning that Nicole really couldn’t hold her liquor.

But when Nicole looked over and saw Waverly, her eyes lit up. It made Waverly’s foot slip off the break just a tad.

“Post con blues got you down?” she asked as she reached out and rubbing Nicole’s arm comfortingly.

“Yeah,” Nicole nodded. Her smile dropped. “I didn’t think it would suck this much.”

“It’s definitely an adjustment,” Waverly said. She slid her hand up and back, twisting some of Nicole’s hair around her finger.

The touch seemed to ease Nicole. Her body physically relaxed and her eyes drifted closed. She scrunched her nose up as if she was trying to compose her thoughts.

It was absolutely adorable. 

“Can I get you anything?” the waiter asked, pulling Waverly and Nicole both out of their own trance.

“Vodka soda with a squeeze of lime, please,” she smiled politely. She kept her hand in Nicole’s hair, wrapping the strand around her middle finger and then letting it fall away to only do it again.

“Can I get another martini?” Nicole asked before the bartender got away.

“Sure thing,” she answered and grabbed Nicole’s empty glass.

“How many of those have you had?” Waverly asked out of curiosity.

“Only two,” Nicole replied. She spun on her stool, making it impossible for Waverly to keep playing with her hair. Instead, she let her hand slide to cup Nicole’s jaw for just a second before letting it fall to her lap.

“Three,” the bartender corrected her as she set the new martini in front of Nicole

The redhead made a little face at the woman that made Waverly laugh. She took her own drink and took a sip, watching Nicole over the brim.

“What about you? Do you get post-con blues?” Nicole asked, leaning heavily on the bar.

“For sure,” Waverly answered honestly. “I don’t think to the extent you all do, because you get to make that connection with each other and really bond. But it is hard going back to reality when you spend a weekend with some of the most beautiful humans on the planet.”

“That’s nice,” Nicole hummed as an easy grin slid across her lips. She turned the stool back towards the bar and looked down into her drink.

The two of them sat in silence. Waverly took the time to really study Nicole beside her. She studied her flawless skin, the adorable little beauty mark under her left eye, the way her lips curved, and her jaw flexed. Waverly wanted to learn every detail about Nicole. She wanted to know every inch of the girl next to her.

“You still being here makes it easier,” Nicole finally spoke. She looked over at Waverly.

Waverly leaned forward until she connected with Nicole’s lips. She usually wasn’t one for PDA. She wasn’t the most famous celebrity, but she still liked a semblance of privacy.

But with Nicole, it was different.

She didn’t care who was around as long as she got to kiss her. She wanted to scream from the rooftops that she was dating this outstanding person and that she was lucky enough to do so. She wanted everyone to know that Nicole was with her. It made her heart swell with happiness.

Nicole broke the kiss before it got to be too much for a bar in the middle of a hotel lobby. Waverly knew it was probably inappropriate, but she bit her lower lip and couldn’t help but look at Nicole’s pink lips.

“Waves,” Nicole breathed as she rested her forehead against Waverly’s.

“Maybe we should take our next drinks back to my room?” Waverly asked. She knew how it sounded, and she quickly tried to retrace her steps. “I happened to notice there were some pretty great Disney movies on before I came looking for you.”

“Are you suggesting we have a Disney marathon?” Nicole asked, her eyes lighting up.

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting,” Waverly nodded. She leaned back from Nicole, picked up her drink, and finished it in one gulp. “Let’s go.”

She got up from her seat and grabbed Nicole’s hand. She pulled the redhead behind her, making sure Nicole got her balance before going too far, though.

Nicole held tight to her hand. Once they were in the elevator, Nicole leaned gently against Waverly’s side. Waverly let go of Nicole’s hand in favor to wrap her arm around the girl’s waist. She lifted up on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on her cheek.

She wanted to really kiss Nicole, but Nicole’s eyes were shut, and she didn’t even seem to be on the same planet as Waverly. She wondered if three martinis were really all she had or if she had enjoyed some shots or something before her friends left.

The elevator dinged open and so did Nicole’s eyes. Waverly held on tight to her even though Nicole was walking just fine. Nicole draped her arm around Waverly’s shoulders, pulling her closer as they made their way to Waverly’s room.

Once they were inside, Nicole kicked her shoes off and made herself comfortable on Waverly’s bed. Waverly watched as the redhead flopped on her stomach and pulled a pillow under her chin. She looked over at Waverly with a smile, her dimples on display.

“Come on,” Nicole chuckled as she patted the space on the bed beside her. “What’s on?”

Waverly grabbed the remote from the end table and crawled onto her bed on her stomach to rest beside Nicole. She turned the television on and felt Nicole snake her arm through Waverly’s in the meantime.

“Lilo and Stitch,” Waverly answered as she tossed the remote to the side. She slid her fingers between Nicole’s to hold her hand.

It was like a contact high. Being with Nicole was overwhelmingly easy. She couldn’t stop thinking about her next move and what it should be. She was in a constant state of awe at the redhead. She didn’t want to do anything to mess it up and make it all end too soon because a part of her couldn't stop thinking about how it was too good to be true.

She focused the movie to try and stop thinking about the way Nicole’s thumb was grazing over her own. Or the way Nicole’s right leg had somehow come to rest across Waverly’s left. It was increasingly being made hard when Nicole started to randomly pull Waverly’s hand up to her lips to kiss her knuckles gently.

But Nicole never took her eyes off the screen either. Waverly couldn’t help but wonder if she was thinking about it all, too.

Waverly couldn’t fight it anymore. She gave Nicole’s hand a little tug as she looked over at her. Nicole met her eyes, a certain fire behind them, and a grin on her lips.

“Hey,” Waverly breathed as a smile crept on her own lips.

“Hey,” Nicole answered back.

Waverly leaned in slowly. She let her gaze flicker down to Nicole’s lips before letting them shut completely.

The kiss was slow and gentle. Waverly could still taste the hint of alcohol on Nicole’s lips but didn’t really mind. When Nicole slipped her tongue into her mouth, however, every cell in her body seemed to hum to life.

Nicole gently nudged Waverly until she was on her back. Nicole gently moved on top of Waverly, pulling her right leg to wrap around her waist.

Waverly draped her arms around Nicole’s neck, pulling her closer and kissing her harder. She tangled her fingers back into that red hair that she was growing to like so much.

No one had ever kissed her like Nicole Haught was kissing her. She was gentle but took what she wanted. She made it known that she wanted all of Waverly without pushing the boundaries or crossing any lines.

At one point, Waverly dug her heel into the back of Nicole’s thigh, urging her forward and causing Nicole to grind her hips into Waverly.

The motion, even though she elicited it, was shocking and caused her to tighten her grip maybe a little too much into Nicole’s hair. The tug pulled Nicole’s away from her and unconnected their lips. Waverly was about to apologize until she saw the fire it had ignited in Nicole’s eyes.

 _Oh, she liked that_.

Nicole’s lips crashed with Waverly’s harder and with more passion than Waverly had ever experienced. Nicole’s hips had found a rhythm at this point that was driving Waverly mad. It wasn’t enough for her. She needed more.

Nicole scared her, that much was for sure. The way she felt for Nicole terrified her. She wasn’t used to any of this in the slightest. She had always been one to face her fears, but this was different. This was a good fear. One that lit something deep within her and made her feel free. It wasn’t something she wanted to conquer. It was something she wanted to savor and to learn.

Waverly had always approached any other new thing thrown her way as something that needed to be overcome. She needed to be prepared and educated and ready for the next challenge so that she could pass with flying colors. She had always felt the need to prove herself and to be the best at her craft, whatever that may be.

But Nicole was different.

She didn’t want to conquer these feelings like she wanted to conquer everything else in her life. They were new and exciting and at times overwhelming. She wanted to feel them. Like, _truly_ feel them. She wanted to absorb them and keep them and live off them. They were unlike any feelings she had felt before. More terrifying, more intense, more everything. Yet not enough.

Waverly let her hand slip from Nicole’s hair and down the side of her body. Her fingertips grazed skin just above Nicole’s pants line where her shirt had ridden up. She let them rest there, feeling the muscles of Nicole’s abdomen beneath them.

Before she could even think about where she wanted her hands to be next, there was a loud banging on her door that caused her to jump. Nicole pulled away quickly, looking up to make sure no one had barged into the room.

“Waverly!” Wynonna yelled from the hallway. “I forgot my damn key in my room again!”

“Oh my god,” Waverly mumbled as she removed her hands from Nicole in favor of covering her face.

She felt Nicole roll of her and onto her back beside her.

“Waverly come on! I know you’re in there!” Wynonna yelled as she still pounded on the door.

“I’m going to kill her!” she huffed, the words muffled by her hands before she removed them from her face.

She rolled off the bed and swiped the extra key for Wynonna’s room that she asked the front desk for when they checked in off of the entertainment center.

“Waver–” Wynonna was starting to yell again when Waverly opened the door. The smile on her face faded when she saw the annoyance on Waverly’s. “Who licked the icing off your cupcake?” Wynonna asked as she plucked the keycard from Waverly’s hand.

“I’m a little busy,” Waverly said through gritted teeth. She crossed her arms over her chest and flexed her jaw in frustration.

“You were getting it on with Red, weren’t you?” Wynonna grinned. She stood on her tiptoes to see past Waverly and into the room.

“Just unlock your door and give me the key back, please,” Waverly managed to say with very little anger in her tone.

“Oh, yeah, sure thing,” Wynonna nodded.

Waverly was confused. That was entirely too easy, and nothing, absolutely nothing, is easy when it comes to Wynonna.

She watched her older sister turn towards her door, but then quickly turn back and skirt her way around Waverly before she had a chance to realize what her sister was doing.

“Hey!” Waverly protested as she followed Wynonna back into the room.

“So, you’re Red,” Wynonna said with her hands on her hips and a glare on her face.

Nicole was sitting on the bed, wide-eyed. Her lips were red and had very obviously been kissed extensively. Her hair was a bit tousled from Waverly’s fingers, too. She was truly a sight. One that Waverly really didn’t mind seeing.

“Um, Nicole. Nicole Haught.” Nicole stood up and offered her hand to Wynonna.

“Hot? As in hot stuff?” Wynonna asked, taking Nicole’s hand but grinning menacingly at the same time.

“H-A-U-G-H-T,” Waverly clarified.

“Still pronounced hot,” Wynonna said over her shoulder towards her sister. She let go of Nicole’s hand and seemed to square up to the taller girl. “What are your intentions with my baby sister?”

“Um…”

“Okay, it’s time for you to leave,” Waverly interjected. She grabbed Wynonna’s arms and pulled her out of the room.

“I’m not done with you!” Wynonna called out to Nicole as Waverly pushed her out the door.

“Keep the key,” Waverly told her and slammed the door shut. She turned back to face Nicole who was still standing in the same spot. “I am so sorry about her,” Waverly attempted to laugh.

“She’s… something,” Nicole nodded as she finally looked at Waverly. Wynonna could have a shocking effect on people when she blows in like a tornado out of nowhere.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Waverly sighed as she reached out for Nicole’s hands.

“I should probably go back to my room, huh?” Nicole asked as she looked over at the clock.

It was getting late. Waverly hadn’t realized just how much time had passed. She didn’t want Nicole to leave, but it was obvious that whatever mood they had set earlier had been diminished by the ruckus that was known as Wynonna.

“You could stay the night if you’d like,” Waverly offered. She really did like sleeping with Nicole. It was like a whole new level of peace. She felt safe in the redhead’s arms.

“Just let me run to my room and grab my stuff?” Nicole asked as she grabbed her phone from where it had apparently fallen out of her pocket during the fiasco.

“Sure,” Waverly smiled gently.

Nicole placed a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be back,” she said, and Waverly watched her leave the room.

Waverly turned and fell back onto her bed in a huff. The timing of Wynonna was truly impeccable.


	5. The Climb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Climb by Miley Cyrus

“Come on, Nicole!” Waverly called out as Nicole trudged up the path behind her.

“I’m right behind you,” Nicole called back as she pushed on.

Nicole was struggling a bit. She was used to hiking, but usually in the cold of Purgatory. The heat was unbearable, and she definitely wasn’t as used to it.

But she hiked on behind Waverly in her spandex bottoms and her cutoff tank top that she had tied up so that her stomach (more like abs, Nicole had observed) was visible. Her hair was braided into pigtails, but she had a black hat on as well. Honestly, Nicole had never seen her look so cute. She was finding that she was attracted to every form of Waverly.

Waverly stopped just up ahead to look out over what Nicole was convinced to be a small mountain. She stopped beside the brunette, rested her hands on her hips as she took deep breaths.

“I thought I was in better shape than this,” Nicole huffed as she looked out at the scenery.

“Trust me, babe, you’re in great shape,” Waverly replied. Nicole looked over at her with a slight grin to see the blush on Waverly’s cheeks. Or maybe it was just from the heat.

Nicole had never been one for pet names. She used to even go as far as to say they were gag-worthy and annoying. She realized now that maybe, just maybe, it was because the right person wasn’t calling her those names.

When Waverly called her cutie, or babe, or sweetie, or whatever other name popped into her head, it made Nicole all warm and fuzzy inside. She had even found herself responding with even more nauseating nicknames. She knew that if she wasn’t one of two in this relationship, she would probably be sickened by the way she and Waverly spoke to one another.

But she was, and she was happy. With Waverly, she could be herself. There was no guarding her innermost demons or desires. She felt like she could be free and be who she always wanted to be. It was exciting and damn near too good to be true.

“Come on, let’s set up the picnic over there.” Waverly practically skipped to a little opening of the trees that seemed just perfect for a picnic.

Nicole took one last look at the view before following suit. She took her backpack off and sat it on the ground next to a nearby tree.

She pulled out the red and white checked blanket. When Waverly had produced it earlier, she claimed it was “aesthetically pleasing” and that “it just made sense” to picnic on that type of blanket. Nicole couldn’t find it in her to question that reasoning. Plus, she thought it was kind of cute that Waverly was _that_ much of a planner.

She shook the blanket out and placed it on the ground between her and Waverly.

“Okay, so I packed lots of fruits and veggies,” Waverly said as she dropped down to her knees on the blanket. She swung her backpack around in front of her.

Waverly had also decided that she would be carrying the backpack with food in it while Nicole’s consisted of the blanket and first aid kit. Again, Nicole didn’t question her reasoning and just went with it.

Waverly sat out all the food she had. There were strawberries, grapes, sliced apples, and peaches. Then on the vegetable side, she had cherry tomatoes, pickles, and broccoli. It looked like a pretty nice spread, except for the pickles. Nicole hated pickles.

Nicole watched as Waverly sat everything out perfectly and then pulled out two more reusable water bottles. Nicole adored how committed Waverly was to her own cause.

She hadn’t met many people that truly stuck to their morals the way Waverly does. She never seemed to hesitate to do the right thing when it came to people or the environment. Waverly was truly an angel and Nicole couldn’t imagine her being anything other than who she truly was.

“I hope this is all okay,” Waverly finally said when she looked up at Nicole. A glimmer of doubt passed through her eyes.

“It’s perfect,” Nicole smiled as she settled down on the blanket right next to Waverly.

The soft smile that covered Waverly’s lips made Nicole’s heart race. She leaned forward, unable to help herself, and kissed her. It was a short kiss, sweet and simple, but Nicole wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“Perfect,” Waverly repeated. She shifted onto her bottom, crossing her legs, and taking a pickle from the jar.

Nicole immediately reached for a strawberry. She let her legs stretch out to get comfy.

 _It really couldn’t get better than this_ , Nicole thought. It was all of her favorite things: nature, food, and Waverly.

Nicole could remember being little and imaging going on a picnic with the perfect girl. When she used to think about it, there was just a faceless person beside her. That’s how it was with all of her dreams. With every passing moment spent with Waverly, though, that blank face was starting to be filled in.

It was all happening so fast. Too fast, some would say. Stereotypically fast, others would argue. She was jumping off a cliff head first with no reassurance of being caught. It was a chance she was willing to take for the happiness she had felt over the last couple of days.

They felt like a lifetime really. It was like this piece was missing from her life that she didn’t even realize until Waverly fit perfectly in it.

“How is it...” Waverly said, breaking the silence they had fallen into. “...that we just hiked miles in the blistering heat and you still smell like vanilla dipped donuts?”

“I smell like vanilla dipped donuts?” Nicole asked with a grin.

Waverly looked up to meet her stare. “Yeah, they’re my favorite, too.”

Nicole laughed. She leaned back until all of her weight was on her hands. She over at Waverly. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just naturally vanilla donut-y.”

Waverly smiled, looking at Nicole in a way that no one had ever looked at her. It was like she could see right into Nicole’s soul.

“Here,” Waverly said, grabbing another strawberry and offering it to Nicole.

Nicole took a bite, then watched Waverly finish it off herself. Nicole couldn’t kid herself. It did something to her to see Waverly do that.

She tossed the stem back into the container and turned back to Nicole. She leaned forward, pressing her lips against Nicole’s. Nicole could taste the fresh strawberry. It added a whole new level of sweetness to Waverly.

Without losing contact, Waverly shifted until she was straddling Nicole’s hips and cradling her face. Nicole was in a trance. The outside world dissolved around her and all she could focus on was Waverly in her lap.

Not only was she in her lap, but she had deepened the kiss. Nicole let Waverly’s tongue slip past her lips easily and tangle with her own. She failed at suppressing the moan it pulled out of her.

Her hands were too far away, so she sat up straighter, bringing her body flush against Waverly’s. She let her hands wander to Waverly’s hip, settling there and gripping tightly at the loose fabric of her shirt.

Nicole’s entire body was humming. She knew damn well they were in public and anyone could walk by at any time. The rush only added to the intensity of the kiss.

She secretly loved the constant feel of need when it came to a new relationship. The want to explore and get to know each other was intoxicating. Discovering new things about one another that only a select few have found out before was thrilling. It was exciting. It was new. It was a rush.

Waverly slowed the kiss down first, finishing it by placing the smallest little kiss on Nicole’s nose and resting her forehead against hers. She was breathing heavy, eyes closed, and almost a look of pain was creasing her face.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Nicole asked. She ran her hand up Waverly’s spine and back down in an attempt to comfort her. She needed to know what happened so that she could fix it. She had to make it better.

“I’m going to miss you, you know,” Waverly said quietly as she leaned back from Nicole. She finally opened her eyes.

Nicole reached up and tucked some loose hair between Waverly’s ear and the cap to get it to stay. 

“I’m going to miss you, too,” Nicole answered, pressing her forehead against Waverly’s again. She connected their lips once more for a long, sweet kiss. “That just means we’ll have to visit each or and FaceTime constantly,” she smiled. She was trying to lighten the mood the best she could. She hated to see Waverly upset.

“I guess I’ll have to come back to Purgatory,” Waverly half-smiled. There was something else there. Something she was holding back.

“Is that okay?” Nicole asked, genuinely curious. She didn’t want to make Waverly uncomfortable in any way, and if that meant meeting outside of Purgatory then she would do it as often as she could.

Waverly looked down at where her hands were on Nicole’s stomach. “Yeah, totally,” she nodded. Her voice was a bit too high pitched for Nicole to believe her.

“Waves,” Nicole said soundly. “Talk to me.”

Waverly removed herself from Nicole’s lap. Nicole watched as she laid back on the blanket with her knees bent. Nicole laid down beside her, body facing Waverly and her head propped up on her hand so that she could properly look at her.

“It’s no secret we haven’t really been back much since we left,” Waverly started. She kept her eyes trained on the blue sky above them. “I grew up with my Aunt Gus and Uncle Curtis. Wynonna left as soon as she could. She really went through some shit after everything that happened to daddy and Willa. Did you know they put her in a mental hospital?”

“No,” Nicole answered truthfully. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah, they never really talked about it around me and she’s not exactly the most open about it,” Waverly went on. “As soon as she got out, she left. We kept in touch and as soon as I turned eighteen, I was right there with her. I love Aunt Gus and Uncle Curtis. They did the best they could and helped send me to college., but I wanted to be with Wynonna. She had already started to make a life for herself. We never in a million years thought that we would end up where we are now.”

“You’re doing pretty good for yourselves,” Nicole smiled.

“Yeah, Daddy would hate it though,” Waverly mumbled. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands as she exhaled.

Nicole didn’t want to pry. She knew what it was like to have parents that don’t particularly care for you as they should. Whether it be physically, emotionally, or mentally. It can take a huge toll on someone.

“You know he never really treated me like part of the family,” Waverly said as she dropped her hands to her stomach. “Momma left when I was little. So it was just us three girls with good ole Ward. He hated me. Willa was his pride and joy. He wanted her to be just like him when she grew up. Wynonna got by. She managed to stop some of the…” Waverly paused. “…the, um, disciplines Daddy chose for me.”

A flame of hate ignited within Nicole. She couldn’t imagine anyone being that horrible to a sweet, little Waverly.

“The people who killed him took Willa, too. They came to the house and all hell broke loose.” Waverly exhaled. A stray tear rolled down her temple and landed on the blanket beneath her. “We never found her. Everyone just assumed she was dead. We had a funeral for both of them at the same time. Willa’s casket was full of sandbags and Daddy’s had… well, Daddy in it.” Waverly sat up, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Nicole sat up too, wrapping her arm around Waverly’s shoulder and pulling her close. She placed a kiss on the side of Waverly’s head.

“I was six and all I remember is that they let me eat whatever I wanted. I got so sick that night.” She exhaled in a weak attempt at a laugh. “But watching Wynonna go through what she had to go through…”

Nicole could see the next words physically lodge themselves in Waverly’s throat. Her mouth was open, but no words were coming out. Just more tears running down her cheeks. She finally closed her mouth and looked up in an attempt to make them stop.

It broke Nicole’s heart all over again. It was then and there that she decided that she would do anything to make sure she never saw that kind of hurt on Waverly’s face again. She would go to the ends of the earth to ensure her happiness.

Nicole was very protective of the ones she loved. Even the ones she particularly didn’t. She was a police officer after all. It was kind of in her job description to serve and protect.

But this was more. The feeling she had to protect Waverly was more than a duty or instinct. It was in her bones. It was something that was already rooted so deep inside of her. Waverly’s smile was her favorite thing. Seeing it replaced with tears and hurt and a quivering chin was unacceptable.

“Sorry,” Waverly sniffled as she wiped her own face.

“Never apologize, baby,” Nicole reminded her. She pressed her lips to the side of Waverly’s head again. “Never,” she repeated quietly.

Waverly relaxed into her body, letting her hand fall on Nicole’s thigh as she turned her head into the kiss.

“What about you?” Waverly asked as she sat back up. “How are your parents?”

Nicole laughed. She couldn’t help herself. Her parents were not exactly what she thought Waverly was imagining.

“Conservative assholes that barely acknowledge my existence since I came out,” Nicole told her. A pang of hurt stabbed her heart, but only briefly. “It’s okay,” she reassured Waverly, or maybe herself. “I’ve dealt with that baggage and moved on.”

“It still can’t be easy,” Waverly said. She reached over and took Nicole’s hand. “I mean, they’re your parents.”

“Yeah, but they’re pretty toxic,” Nicole said. She looked down at the way Waverly was playing with her fingers. She would slide Nicole’s index ring off and then on again. It was comforting. “I learned at a young age that just because you’re related by blood doesn’t necessarily mean you have to keep those people in your life.”

Waverly stayed quiet.

“When I was younger, they would drag me to church every Sunday,” Nicole recalled. “But I would sneak out and smoke cigarettes around back. I knew I didn’t belong there. I wasn’t accepted there, but they made me go anyway.”

“You smoked cigarettes?” Waverly asked with a small, but shocked, grin on her face.

“I did,” Nicole laughed. “I was, um…” she trailed off. She didn’t want to go too much into details about her teenage years. This conversation had already been heavy enough. “I was dealing with some shit and going through a phase. Lesbianism just wasn’t one of them and my mom really didn’t like that.”

“She sounds lovely,” Waverly said sarcastically. It made Nicole laugh again.

“Imagine Bunny Loblaw, but with red hair.”

“Oh god!” Waverly gasped. “That’s horrible.”

Nicole just nodded but kept the smile on her lips. It seemed to ease the pain of her past. If she acted like she didn’t care, then maybe she wouldn’t in the long run. She had a better life without them in it.

She never wanted them to meet Waverly. That was for sure. She could just see the disapproving look her mother would give her and Nicole did not want to put Waverly through that. It was a special kind of hell.

“I’m so sorry you have to put up with that.”

“I really don’t anymore,” Nicole answered. “I don’t talk to them and they don’t talk to me. It’s a pretty sweet deal,” she half joked.

Waverly shook her head in disbelief. Nicole knew how important family was to Waverly, and it was important to her too. Just, not the toxic family members that wholeheartedly denied everything that she was. She had found her family and her people and she felt more love from them than she ever did her blood relatives. 

Waverly made herself comfortable in Nicole’s arms again. Nicole held her close until Waverly’s phone dinged beside her.

Waverly huffed before reaching over to see who it was.

“Oh,” she mumbled as she read the text on her screen.

“What is it?” Nicole asked as she grabbed another strawberry.

“Wynonna wants us to go out with her and Doc tomorrow night for drinks.”

“Oh,” Nicole exhaled, much like how Waverly had.

“We totally don’t have to. I know it’s your last night and everything so–”

“No, I want to,” Nicole nodded. She smiled to reassure Waverly even though her stomach was twisted in knots all of a sudden. “It should be fun, right?”

“That's one word for it,” Waverly nodded. “Nicole, you really don’t have to.”

“I know,” Nicole chuckled. She leaned forward and grabbed a grape this time. “But I really do want to.” She popped the grape in her mouth, giving Waverly a close-lipped smile as she chewed.

She could see the happiness back on Waverly’s face. Nicole knew how important Wynonna was to her. If she didn’t before, she sure does now after what Waverly had just recounted about their past.

“It’s a date,” Waverly smiled as she hit send on the text back to Wynonna agreeing to go out tomorrow night. She looked over at Nicole, a content small smile on her lips.

Her whole demeanor was completely different. She was sitting up a little taller, her legs were stretched out in front of her, and her face was relaxed. Her eyes were still tinged red, but they had that happy glow back inside of them.

“Come on, we should start heading back,” Waverly said as she got up from the blanket. She reached down and pulled Nicole up with her, pecking her on the lips before Nicole could fully stand up.

They cleaned everything up, redistributing the food between them because Nicole insisted that she carry more this time, and started back down the trail.

There was a new dynamic between them. Waverly seemed… lighter. The way she was holding Nicole’s hand and swinging it between them, the way she was constantly informing Nicole of wilderness facts that Nicole already knew but pretended not to, it was all with less weight on her shoulders. It was as if a new door had opened between them.

Nicole was feeling pretty good about it, too. Even though she knew that in a couple of days it would all come to a screeching halt. She would go back to Purgatory and Waverly would go to the next con and they would have to do the long-distance thing for a while.

But they had technology on their side. It would suck, more than Nicole probably imagined, but they could do it. What she felt was real, and she was willing to go through it all to see where she and Waverly would end up. She would FaceTime, text, call, and do whatever she needed to do. It wouldn’t be the same, but it would be worth it.

“Oh my god,” Nicole heard an unfamiliar voice say from in front of them.

She hadn’t noticed that she was only really looking at the ground and over at Waverly as they strolled back through the wooded area.

When she looked up, she saw two girls in hiking gear. One was wearing a t-shirt from Waverly’s show and Nicole was immediately reminded that Waverly was kind of a big deal. It was easy to forget that other people felt that way about her too when they were together.

“We’re such huge fans,” the girl went on as she quickly approached Waverly.

Waverly dropped Nicole’s hand, putting on a wide smile to greet the fans.

The girl’s friend stayed back. She was clutching her backpack and quite frankly looked terrified. She locked eyes with Nicole for a split second before moving cautiously towards Waverly and her friend.

“Oh, thank you!” Waverly smiled as she looked at the two girls. “What’s your name?”

“Callie and this is Beth,” Callie spoke up. She looked back at Beth but didn’t seem to notice her level of discomfort.

Nicole noticed that Beth was actually gravitating towards her. She was a bit overwhelmed herself. Two complete strangers had just approached them in the middle of the woods. This was red flag city for Nicole, but it seemed absolutely normal for Waverly.

“Can we take a picture with you?” the girl asked, eyes full of hope.

“Of course!” Waverly nodded as she turned to look at Nicole. “Do you care to take it for us?”

“Not at all,” Nicole answered quickly.

Callie dug through her pocket, finally reaching her phone, but she paused as she extended her hand.

“Oh my god,” Callie seemed to exhale as she looked at Nicole.

Nicole did not like it. The way all the attention shifted towards her immediately made her uncomfortable. She slowly plucked the phone from the girls still outstretched hand.

Callie looked at Waverly, mouth wide, and a squeal of excitement escaping. “This is your girlfriend!”

Nicole’s heart fell into her stomach. She looked at Beth, who looked to be a little embarrassed by her friend’s bluntness, and then she looked at Waverly.

The question, or statement more like it, had definitely taken her off guard.

It had thrown Nicole, too. They hadn’t discussed labels or even talked about what they were to each other. Just that they were dating. Did that automatically make them girlfriends?

“Yes, well, um…” Waverly looked at Nicole and shrugged. “Kind of.”

“Kind of?” Nicole asked before she could stop herself.

“Let’s take the picture, yeah?” Beth finally spoke up. “We don’t want to keep them from… whatever it is they’re doing.” She grabbed her friend by the arm and drug her over to Waverly who stood between them and smiled.

Nicole snapped the picture, still a little thrown off by Waverly’s answer. She wasn’t really sure what she was expecting. It was good, she guessed, that Waverly didn’t just assume. But a part of her really wanted to hear her say it.

“Thank you so much!” Callie said as she took her phone back from Nicole.

Just as quickly as they appeared, they said their goodbyes and continued on their way up the path.

Nicole stood, a little shocked at all that had just taken place. Waverly was watching her. Probably trying to gauge how Nicole would react to being called her "kind of" girlfriend.

The thing was, Nicole didn’t know how to react. She was a little hurt, but she wasn’t really sure whether or not she had a right to be.

“I didn’t really know what else to say,” Waverly finally spoke up as she took a step towards Nicole.

“No, it’s fine,” Nicole nodded. “The one was kind of… a lot.”

“She was just excited,” Waverly brushed it off.

“The ones in the elevator were much more civil,” Nicole tried to joke.

Waverly didn’t seem to find it funny.

“Are you mad?” Waverly asked, taking both of Nicole’s hands.

Nicole looked down at Waverly’s face. The feelings stirring up inside of her seemed to slip away a little bit as she took a deep breath.

“No,” she finally answered. For good measure, she placed a kiss on Waverly’s forehead. “Let’s go.”

The walk back was quieter. Once they made it to Waverly’s rental car, Nicole was itching for something to fill the silence.

As soon as Waverly got on the road, Nicole rolled her window down. She loved the feeling of the air rushing past. The way it blew her hair in crazy directions probably should have bothered her, but she loved it. It was freeing.

She reached out and turned the radio up as far as she could stand it. Waverly looked over at her, grinning a bit as Nicole let the music consume her.

 _Paradise City_ blared through the speakers as Nicole turned to completely face the window. The wind against her face calmed her thoughts and helped her breath. She tried to focus on the rest of the day. All the good parts. She didn’t want to let that girl’s question get to her.

She definitely wanted to make progress on Waverly’s answer before she left. “Kind of” just wasn’t going to cut it.


	6. Breathless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breathless by I M U R
> 
> You already know...
> 
> *Here's where that rated M comes into play*

Being in Nicole’s arms was becoming Waverly’s safe place. She had always been one to have a place that she could escape to and just feel safe. It had been a priority of hers since she was a little girl.

The first safe place she remembers is Wynonna’s bedroom. At night, whenever she had a nightmare or got scared, she would run off to her big sister’s room and hide. Wynonna would always protect her. She would hold Waverly, say soothing things, and play with her hair. Sometimes she would even hum a lullaby she said Momma used to sing to her all the time.

After Wynonna left and Waverly was left with her Aunt Gus and Uncle Curtis, she considered the barn to be her safe place. No one ever really went in there after her dad died and Waverly sometimes just needed her own space. She loved her aunt and uncle, but they could just try a little _too_ hard. Especially around the anniversary of everything.

Wynonna had been the only _person_ that Waverly had ever considered safe. She never doubted that her older sister would be there for her always. Even when she was gone. It was harder, then. Waverly had to constantly remind herself of those nights Wynonna took care of her, and that she had promised to come back for her. She always promised she’d be back. And she followed through. Wynonna always followed through.

Now, Waverly was finding herself feeling the same way about Nicole. She had never met anyone who felt so much like home so quickly. She had friends. There were Laura and Carmilla, Jeremy and Robin and even Doc. They were all there for her, but it took time for Waverly to trust them. She was always on guard.

It was like Nicole walked up to the wall Waverly had built around her heart, knocked gently, and it all came crumbling down. She didn’t force her way in. It was like she was just meant to be there. Waverly felt it, and she hoped Nicole felt it too.

That’s why she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had fucked up the day before. She should have been more definite about calling Nicole her girlfriend. “Kind of.” Who says that? What kind of answer was that? Waverly knew how she felt about the tall, caring redhead, but she was still scared.

It was fast, and she didn’t want it to be _too_ fast for Nicole. She had, however, noticed Nicole being a little more standoffish since she called her her “kind of” girlfriend.

But she couldn’t be certain.

Laura said to go for it. Waverly had called her after Nicole left the night before to go on and on about how she couldn’t _believe_ she had said that.

~

_“Do you want her to be your girlfriend?” Laura asked._

_Waverly could hear her eating something. Probably a cookie or another kind of sweet if she had to guess._

_“I wouldn’t mind,” Waverly answered. She was pacing the hotel room. The whole sitting still thing could be difficult for her sometimes in a time of crisis._

_“Okay, how about this,” Laura said. “If you didn’t ask her to be your girlfriend and you went your separate ways, how would you feel?”_

_“Devastated.” It was the truth. “Oh, fudge nuggets.”_

_“Sounds like you got bit by the lovebug,” Laura sang a little too excitedly._

_“Just ask her,” Waverly heard Carmilla chime in. She must have been on speakerphone. “If she says no, then you never have to see her again.”_

_“Carm,” Laura warned._

_Waverly groaned._

_“Why is this so terrifying?” she asked as she plopped down on her bed._

_“Because you care for her,” Laura replied in a matter of fact tone and Waverly couldn’t argue._

_~_

“Nicole,” Waverly finally spoke up.

They were at a park. It was Nicole’s last day in town before she had to catch a flight early the next morning, and they both wanted to explore the city in the daytime before she had to leave.

They had found the most beautiful park with a fountain and lots of trees and benches. Nicole had pulled her under the prettiest tree and sat down on the brilliant green grass. So far only two or three people had passed them. It was a nice, quiet day. Before long they were both laying back, enjoying the sunshine and tranquility of it all.

Waverly swore that she was having the best dream of her life.

Nicole had her arms wrapped around her, and Waverly was holding onto her for dear life as they cuddled under a shade tree in the grass. She didn’t want her to go.

“Yeah, baby?” Nicole answered quietly.

She must have been close to dosing off. Waverly could hear the sleep in her voice, and Nicole’s sleepy voice was Waverly’s favorite. All gruff and languid. It was kind of sexy.

“The fans yesterday…” Waverly started. Her brain was whirring. She knew what she wanted to say, but the words weren’t forming correctly in her mouth.

“The ones in the woods?” Nicole asked, sounding a little more alert.

“Yeah, those.” Waverly felt Nicole tense just a tiny bit before relaxing and running her hand up and down Waverly’s spine.

Maybe Waverly was onto something when she thought Nicole had been a little off since the encounter. Maybe this wouldn’t be as horrific as her mind was telling her it was going to be.

“What about them?” Nicole asked after Waverly didn’t continue.

“She asked if you were my girlfriend, and I said ‘kind of’” Waverly huffed. “I don’t want you to be my ‘kind of’ girlfriend.”

Waverly’s heart was pounding. Nicole’s hand stopped moving.

There was a beat of silence and stillness before Nicole let out what sounded like a defeated “Oh.”

Waverly sat up quickly to look at Nicole. Her eyebrows were knitted together and there was this hurt look in her eyes.

It dawned on Waverly that maybe the words she had finally landed on didn’t come out as she intended. Her tone was off. She shuffled around until she was on her knees in between Nicole’s long legs.

The look on Nicole’s face went from devastation to confusion. She propped herself up on her elbows.

Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail which allowed Waverly to see every angular feature she had to offer. She was truly beautiful, but what was more beautiful, Waverly had found, was what was on the inside. She wanted to be able to call Nicole hers.

“You scare me,” Waverly finally said.

“I… scare you?”

“Yes,” Waverly nodded. “No, I mean… God, why is this so hard.” She covered her face with her hands to try and collect herself. She took a deep breath, then another, and tried to get a handle on her thoughts,

She felt Nicole shift and then her fingers wrap gently around Waverly’s wrists. She pulled them down, causing Waverly to uncover her face and look at her.

“You can tell me,” Nicole said cautiously.

Waverly couldn’t help but think she looked like she was preparing herself for something.

But when Waverly looked into those beautiful brown eyes, everything seemed to clear up. Even when Nicole thought that Waverly was rejecting her, she was trying to comfort her and make it easier for _her_. She cared about Waverly, and Waverly cared about her. That’s all she needed to know.

“I want you to be my girlfriend,” Waverly spoke strongly. “Not my ‘kind of’ girlfriend. My actual, real-life, in every way, girlfriend.”

“You do?” Nicole asked. She grinned, and when she did her dimple came out, and when that happened Waverly might as well have melted into a puddle.

“Of course I do,” she breathed. She reached forward and cupped Nicole’s face. The fear in her eyes was gone and it was replaced with something more. “I really like you, Nicole Haught.”

“I really like you, too, Waverly Earp,” Nicole smiled as she leaned forward and kissed Waverly.

“Is that a yes?” Waverly asked, pulling away before she could get too lost in the kiss.

Before she knew what was happening, Nicole had surged forward, pushing Waverly back into the grass gently and settling above her. She pulled Waverly’s leg up and around her hip so that it was hooked around her.

“Yes,” Nicole said as she kissed Waverly again. “Yes,” she breathed again as Waverly kissed her back.

Waverly was fully aware that they were in a public park and anyone could walk by at any second and snap a photo that would explode on the internet within seconds. She truly was aware of that, but she also truly didn’t care.

What she was more aware of was the way Nicole was kissing her with such passion she could hardly breathe. The way her body fit on top of Waverly’s was like a matching puzzle piece.

Nicole’s hand slid up Waverly’s side slowly. She pulled away to catch her breath and let her thumb brush over Waverly’s lower lip. It ignited a fire within Waverly that really made her wish they weren’t in a public park.

**

Waverly looked at herself in the mirror. She was kind of glad she had brought the silver dress. She almost didn’t. But she liked the way it was a two-piece that came up just a little higher in the front to show off her upper stomach, and the way the skirt hugged her in all the right places. The sheer black, flowery laced tights were a plus too. She felt sexy, and that’s exactly what she was shooting for.

They decided to get ready together. Nicole went and got her stuff while Waverly took her shower. When Waverly came out of the bathroom, Nicole was laying back on the bed looking at her phone.

When she saw Waverly in nothing but a towel and her wet hair falling down her back though, Nicole sat straight up. Waverly thought it was only fair to pay her back for the other night when Nicole herself opened the door in nothing but a towel.

Now, she couldn’t wait to see how Nicole reacted to her outfit. And even more, she couldn’t wait to see Nicole in whatever she had chosen to wear.

Waverly looked around and decided to touch up her makeup a little bit more while Nicole finished getting ready.

“Wave,” Nicole called out from the bathroom as the door opened. “Does this look okay? I didn’t really pack anything appropriate for–”

Nicole stopped when she looked up and saw Waverly, but Waverly was as equally speechless.

Nicole was in black skinny jeans and her denim button-up shirt. Instead of having it open, she had it buttoned up almost all the way, leaving a few buttons strategically undone, and it was tucked into her pants. Her sleeves were rolled up and Waverly couldn’t get over how good she looked in such a simple outfit.

“Wow,” Nicole finally broke the silence. “You look…” she trailed off.

Waverly made herself look away from Nicole’s arms and met her eyes before spinning around.

“Do you like?”

“Yes,” Nicole nodded as she took a step forward. “I definitely like.” She placed her hands on Waverly’s hips and pulled her closer. “A lot, actually.”

Waverly grinned. She loved the way Nicole made her feel when she looked at her that way.

“This outfit is really working for you, too, you know.” Waverly looked down at Nicole’s clothes and then back up to her eyes as she let her hands slide across Nicole’s forearms. They were smooth but muscular. 

“I feel a tad underdressed,” Nicole confessed with a self-conscious smile.

“Not at all, baby,” Waverly replied as she leaned forward and up just a tad. Her heels made it easier to kiss Nicole who was still in sneakers. 

The kiss was slow. A lot different than the one they had shared in the park, but the effects on Waverly was the same. She didn’t think she could ever get tired of kissing Nicole. Her _girlfriend_.

The thought made her giddy. There was no other way to explain it. It was still a little terrifying. She did have the Earp gene, after all, and that meant she could screw everything up at any given moment, but she was trying not to think about that. She wanted to live in the moment with Nicole.

Waverly had just gripped Nicole’s jaw to deepen the kiss when there was a loud banging on the door.

“Come on, baby girl! It’s time to partaaaaay!” Wavery heard Wynonna yell from the hallway.

She huffed, pulling away from Nicole and licking her lips before shooting a glare towards the wooden door.

“I sense a pattern,” Nicole whispered with a grin as she placed one last kiss on Waverly’s cheek.

“She’s really good at doing that,” Waverly mumbled as she went to open the door.

Wynonna smiled wide when Waverly opened the door, only to smile wider when she saw Nicole behind her.

“Haught stuff, you’re already here! Good. Let’s go. Doc’s waiting downstairs.”

Waverly looked over her shoulder at Nicole and reached out for her.

Nicole took her hand and followed her out the door.

**

Clubs weren’t exactly Waverly’s favorite. She had grown used to them over the years due to networking and publicity stuff, but she never actually liked them. It was loud and hot and frankly overrated.

“I hope you guys ate plenty before coming here,” Wynonna said as she handed each one of them a shot. “Cause it’s about to get LIT!”

Waverly watched as her sister and Doc downed their respective shots. She looked at Nicole who was holding her beer in one hand and the shot in the other. She shrugged and put the glass to her lips.

Waverly followed suit and felt the burn run down her throat. She scrunched her nose up a bit at the taste before sticking her tongue out and taking Nicole’s beer. She took a quick swig before handing it back.

“Someone’s lost their touch,” Wynonna grinned as she watched her baby sister.

Waverly shook her head. “You know I’ve never been the best with shots.”

“I’m still working on her,” Wynonna said to Nicole as if it was there little secret.

Nicole nodded once, suppressing a grin as she looked at Waverly.

Waverly rolled her eyes before turning to face the dance floor. She could feel the music thumping in her bones. It was so loud and crowded, but a part of her couldn’t wait to get in the middle of it.

“Come on,” Wynonna said as she grabbed Waverly’s hand. “Let’s get our Earp groove on.”

Waverly looked back at Nicole.

“I’m going to drink my beer,” Nicole said loudly over the music.

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Doc winked as he lifted his glass of whiskey in the air.

Waverly let herself be pulled into the crowd with Wynonna. She started by nodding her head to the music. She watched as Wynonna did the same with her hands high above her head.

It always amazed Waverly how Wynonna could just cut loose like that. She was unapologetically herself and Waverly wished she could be more like that.

As she danced along with her sister, she watched Nicole from the corner of her eye. The redhead was watching her, too. She seemed to be mesmerized and not listening to a word Doc was trying to say to her. She would just nod every now and then and drink her beer.

Waverly danced to a few songs, jumping and laughing along with Wynonna as they danced together. They attracted the attention of a couple of guys. Wynonna entertained them, but Waverly wasn’t interested. She made her way back to Nicole who was holding a vodka soda for her.

“A splash of lime, right?” Nicole asked as she leaned down so that Waverly could hear her.

“Thank you,” Waverly replied as she took a sip. She looked around. “Where’s Doc?”

“Over there,” Nicole said as she pointed over her shoulder.

Waverly looked over to see Doc leaning across the bar, talking to another brunette that was dressed a little more revealing than Wynonna.

“Should I have said something? I didn’t know if he and Wynonna were together or…?” Nicole said as she looked back to Waverly.

“They’re not, but they’ll end up together at the end of the night.” Waverly waved her hand in dismissal as she took a long sip of her drink.

She looked at Nicole who had her hand shoved into her jean pockets and was looking around uncomfortably.

Waverly reached out and let her finger trace up Nicole’s forearm. It seemed to get her attention immediately. She looked down at Waverly and a wave of relief seemed to wash over her. LIke she remembered that she wasn't alone in all the chaos.

“You wouldn’t want to dance, Officer Haught, would you?” Waverly asked, trying not to show just how much she wanted Nicole to join her. But her tone was suggestive enough.

Nicole’s eyebrow raised as she looked around once more as if she was thinking. When she looked back down at Waverly, she was grinning. She licked her lips before plucking Waverly’s nearly empty glass from her hand.

Waverly squealed in delight as she grabbed Nicole’s hand and pulled her out to the dance floor. Once they were there, Waverly immediately found the beat and glued herself to Nicole.

They were both drenched in sweat in no time because apparently, the air conditioning was no match for the number of people in the club. Nicole didn’t seem to mind as long as it was Waverly pressed up against her. She had her hand in her own hair, holding it up off her neck giving Waverly perfect access.

She contemplated it for a while. With her heels, she was at the perfect height to just… kiss Nicole’s neck. She wasn’t drunk enough to blame it on the alcohol, but she was just tipsy enough to have the courage to actually do it.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck and pulled her forward. She had never been so close to Nicole without just kissing her and the feeling was more intoxicating than the shots she had done earlier.

Nicole’s free hand landed low on Waverly’s hip, gripping her tightly and keeping her close. Nicole positioned her head so that her forehead was pressed against Waverly’s.

She could feel Nicole’s hot breath on her lips. Waverly leaned forward, but just before she could kiss her, she veered to the right and connected her lips to Nicole’s neck instead.

"Fuck," Nicole exhaled, spurring Waverly on.

She bit down gently on Nicole’s skin. Not hard enough to leave a mark, but enough to make a point. She kissed the spot gently once more before turning her back towards Nicole and grinding into her.

Nicole had let go of her hair because now both hands were on Waverly. They ran down her hips and to her thighs before traveling back up and pulling her closer. Nicole’s lips brushed the shell of Waverly’s ear, sending chills down her spine.

Waverly spun back around, connecting her lips with Nicole’s in a searing kiss. It definitely wasn’t appropriate and just downright dirty, but she couldn’t find it in her to care.

It was Nicole’s last night, and she wanted all of her.

She pulled away from Nicole to make eye contact. She could see the fire in those brown eyes.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was pulling Nicole off the dancefloor. She made it to the hallway next to the bathrooms before she pushed Nicole up against a free wall.

Their bodies were pressed impossibly close to one another. Before Waverly could reconnect their lips, Nicole reversed their positions. She put her arms up, pinning Waverly against the wall and looking down at her with that fire.

“Not here,” Nicole exhaled as she clenched her jaw in restraint.

Waverly only nodded. It was a good call really. She followed Nicole out of the club and out to the street.

She took the time to pull her phone out while Nicole was talking to a taxi driver to get them a ride back to the hotel room. She sent Wynonna a text, telling her she and Nicole were turning in for the night. She couldn’t imagine the comments she would get later, but it wasn’t really in her interest to be picked on by her older sister at the moment.

Once they were in the taxi, they sat close but kept their eyes trained forward. Nicole let her hand fall on Waverly’s thigh, giving a squeeze.

Waverly looked over at Nicole. The city lights illuminated her face and her features. The fire was still there, but there was a gentle look on her face. Waverly could get lost in her eyes forever.

When they made it to the hotel, Nicole tossed some cash to the taxi driver and pulled Waverly out of the car.

“Thank you!” Waverly called out as she followed Nicole into the hotel.

Once they were in the elevator, Waverly couldn’t wait anymore. When the doors closed, she turned to Nicole and kissed her again.

Nicole held onto her tightly. Kissing her back with just as much fervor and need.

Waverly’s insides were started to twist. The thought of actually doing this was exciting but overwhelming at the same time.

When the doors dinged open, the kissing didn’t stop. Nicole lead them towards one of their rooms. Waverly wasn’t even sure which. She didn’t notice which button Nicole had hit.

She felt Nicole fumbling for her own wallet and knew they were at her room. When she pulled away to let Nicole find the room key, she couldn’t help but smile.

“Smart move,” Waverly said once Nicole found the key and held it up to the lock.

“What?” Nicole asked as she opened the door.

“Wynonna doesn’t know where your room is,” Waverly grinned as she walked in. She kicked her heels off immediately, taking her down a few inches.

“That’s not… I didn’t even…” Nicole sputtered as she stepped into the room and locked the door.

“Nicole,” Waverly said, interrupting the cute stammering. Nicole looked up at her as she dropped the key onto the entertainment center. She took a few steps closer until they were inches apart.

Now that things had slowed down, the nerves were taking over. Waverly’s stomach was tied in a knot, but she still couldn’t deny how much she wanted Nicole. She had been painfully aware of it since they started to dance.

She reached up and laced her fingers around Nicole’s neck. Nicole leaned down and kissed Waverly, slowly.

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she let go and started to unbutton Nicole’s shirt. Her fingers were trembling. It wasn’t fear, though. It was nerves, excitement, need. A mixture of emotions was happening inside of her. Emotions that were becoming considerably less noticeable the more she kissed Nicole. They were all being replaced with warmth. Comfort. Safety.

“Whoa, wait. Waverly,” Nicole breathed as she pulled away. She placed her hands over Waverly’s hands that had been undoing her belt. She made sure to look Waverly in the eye. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Waverly answered. She hoped it didn’t sound too rushed.

“Yeah?” Nicole asked again.

“I’m sure,” Waverly assured her as she pulled Nicole’s belt from its loops.

Nicole smiled gently, squatting just enough to pick Waverly up and carry her to the bed. Waverly couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. She never lost eye contact with Nicole and she was eased back onto the bed.

She laid over Waverly, reconnecting their lips with a slow searing kiss. Waverly could still taste the hint of alcohol on Nicole’s lips.

Nicole’s hand slid up Waverly’s back, finding the zipper and pulling it down gently as she continued to kiss her. Waverly lifted just enough for Nicole to pull her top off. She did the same to Waverly’s skirt, leaving her only in her matching black lace underwear that she may have put on in a whim but was totally thankful for now.

Nicole pulled back, looking down at Waverly’s body.

“God, you’re beautiful,” Nicole exhaled as she kissed Waverly harder.

It was truly magical. Waverly had never been with anyone as gentle and attentive as Nicole. When Nicole moved her lips to Waverly’s neck, she did what she could to push Nicole’s own shirt off.

She found that there was no undershirt under the denim. Only Nicole own, less lacey, black bra.

Nicole never let up on her neck, though. The feeling was just as intoxicating as when they kissed, if not more. The way their bodies were starting to rock together made it hard for Waverly to keep track of her own thoughts, or her hands for that matter.

They were tangled in Nicole’s hair at the time. Holding her close as Waverly tried to keep her breathing at a somewhat normal pace.

The heat that was traveling down her body was becoming unbearable. When Nicole finally pressed her leg up against Waverly’s core, she let out a small sigh from the tiniest bit of relief.

“Nicole,” Waverly whimpered as Nicole removed her lips from Waverly’s neck.

She kissed Waverly’s lips thoroughly before trailing down to her collarbone. Her teeth scraped Waverly’s skin, sucking on it before running her tongue over the vague mark.

She kept making her way down until she was between Waverly’s breast. In the meantime, Nicole’s hands were unclasping Waverly’s bra.

Once it was undone, Nicole lifted up enough to pull the garment from Waverly’s arms. She looked down at Waverly’s bare breast before kissing the left one gently and running her tongue over Waverly’s nipple.

Waverly gasped. She tangled her fingers back into Nicole’s red hair where they were beginning to feel like home. Nicole reached up with her free hand to cup Waverly’s other breast.

Waverly had come to really marvel at Nicole’s hands. Her long slender fingers were strong, but they were also gentle. Waverly definitely didn’t mind them when they were cupping and caressing her.

Nicole switched her mouth to Waverly’s other breast, giving it the same attention, causing Waverly to squirm underneath her.

“Fuck,” Waverly exhaled as she realized what Nicole was doing as she kissed beneath her breast and then down her stomach.

She parted her legs, making room for Nicole between them. She propped herself up on her elbows so that she could see Nicole kissing her inner thigh.

Nicole looked up, making eye contact with Waverly before biting down a little harder than she had on her collarbone. She sucked on the skin, causing Waverly to drop her head back and moan when she realized Nicole was marking her where no one else could see.

She felt those beautiful slender fingers hook her underwear and pull down until she was fully exposed. She managed to look back down to watch Nicole's next moves carefully. 

Nicole kissed her once more on the inside of her thigh before pressing her tongue firmly against Waverly’s heat.

Waverly’s head fell back as she let herself fall back onto the bed. The sight alone was too much, not to mention how it felt. 

Nicole found a rhythm quickly, building up the tempo until Waverly was breathing heavy and letting moans escape from time to time. She knew there were people in the rooms next to them, but she really didn’t care at the moment.

She reached down and grabbed a fistful of Nicole’s hair a little more aggressively than she meant to. The tug made Nicole hum in satisfaction, sending vibrations throughout Waverly’s body.

“Nicole,” Waverly breathed as she tightened her grip to pull Nicole impossibly closer. She felt two slender fingers ease into her and match the rhythm of Nicole’s tongue.

Nicole’s name was the last thing Waverly managed to say before she lost the ability to form any words whatsoever. She felt the string wind up tighter inside of her until it snapped and shook her to her core. 

Nicole eased her through it, slowly sliding her fingers from within Waverly and kissing her way quickly back up her body. She settled on Waverly’s lips, and the taste of herself on Nicole’s tongue seemed to ignite a different kind of fire within her.

She kissed Nicole slowly, taking in everything that her senses would allow her to. The smell of Nicole, the taste of herself on Nicole, the way Nicole’s body pressed against Waverly's from the side as they continued to kiss. The way Nicole’s pants scraped Waverly’s bare leg. Which was a problem, because those pants had to go.

Waverly shifted until she was on top of Nicole this time. She unbuttoned her pants and pulled them down, getting a little help from Nicole who kicked them off. She also pulled Nicole's underwear off while she was at it. 

Nicole sat up as Waverly settled back into her lap. Waverly unclasped her bra fairly easily.

She wanted to feel Nicole. She wanted her hands to trace every inch of the redheads long, muscular, flawless body.

She leaned Nicole back until she was straddling her again. She looked down at Nicole’s uncovered breasts and immediately covered them with her hands. She positioned her hips over Nicole’s and started to rock them.

The exhale that escaped Nicole’s lips as she held tightly to Waverly’s hips told her that she was doing something right. Hitting the right spot to wind Nicole up in the best way.

She abandoned her grip on Nicole’s breasts to lean forward and kiss her, never slowing rhythm with her hips. The kiss was sloppy. They were both on the verge of tumbling over the edge. Waverly had found herself being painfully close again.

The sounds Nicole was making were quite possibly the cutest and sexiest sounds Waverly had ever heard. She wanted to hear more. They were like music to her ears.

She trailed a hand down until she pressed gently against Nicole's heat, letting her adjust to the pressure, before finding the rhythm to match her hips.

Her fingers slipped around Nicole’s bundle of nerves and then down and in. Finding that perfect curl of her finger with each stroke wasn’t hard. It was almost as if she knew exactly where Nicole needed her.

She heard Nicole swear and then moan her name, followed by a rush of heat that told Waverly she was tumbling over the edge. The combined feeling and thought of making Nicole do such a thing was enough to send Waverly over her own edge. The spring that had wound back up snapped and she collapsed on top of Nicole.

“Holy shit,” Nicole breathed as Waverly gently slipped her fingers from Nicole’s underwear.

“Wow,” Waverly sighed as she turned her head to face Nicole. She knew she probably needed to get off the redhead, but they fit so well together. Nicole really didn’t seem to mind.

“That was…”

“Yeah,” Waverly nodded as she pushed herself up and kissed Nicole gently before rolling off of her. 

She curled into Nicole’s side, wrapping her arms around her and tangling their legs together.

Waverly was instantly about to doze off. Her eyes fluttered closed and she felt Nicole pull the sheet up and over them. She then placed a kiss on Waverly’s forehead and Waverly had never felt so content, happy, or safe in her life.


	7. Leaving On A Jet Plane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaving On A Jet Plane by John Denver
> 
> All my bags are packed  
> I'm ready to go  
> I'm standin' here outside your door  
> I hate to wake you up to say goodbye  
> But the dawn is breakin'  
> It's early morn  
> The taxi's waitin'  
> He's blowin' his horn  
> Already I'm so lonesome  
> I could die

Falling asleep with Waverly in her arms was becoming Nicole’s favorite thing, but NOTHING compared to waking up next to Waverly Earp.

Nicole’s arms were wrapped around her from behind. She had woken up with her face buried in Waverly’s hair which just immediately filled Nicole’s senses of Waverly. The smell, the feel, the sound of her soft breathes as she continued to sleep, and the way she looked all curled up and peaceful was too much for Nicole to handle so early in the morning.

She didn’t want to ever leave that moment. Nicole decided that she wanted to start her day off with Waverly always.

The memories of the night before flashed through her mind. Waverly’s naked body pressed up against her own was a pleasant reminder, and the pull of her muscles was another.

She felt Waverly shuffle in her arms until the brunette was facing her. Nicole couldn’t stop herself from reaching up and tucking a bit of hair behind Waverly’s ear.

The clock on the nightstand was flashing 6:43 am. Nicole had always been an early riser. It was both a curse and a blessing. She had five hours before her noon flight and she wanted to spend every one of them with Waverly.

Not getting to see Waverly again for who knows how long was overwhelming. Nicole wanted to at least talk about it with Waverly before she left. Set a date, maybe make some kind of plan for their next meetup.

She knew this was going to be a problem from the beginning, but Waverly was worth every bit of it.

Nicole had always assessed situations and weighed the risks. It was part of her job. She needed to know what she was doing and getting into before any of it started to happen. She was a planner. Maybe not to the extent that Waverly was with every detail, but she wouldn’t mind a general gist of a timeframe.

Knowing the risks meant Nicole could prepare herself for the longing and missing and just pure pain of being away from Waverly for so long. They had been able to spend a few blissful days together to get to know each other, but Nicole wanted more. More time, more Waverly, more everything.

It was like she had gotten a taste of her new favorite candy. It was addicting. Waverly was addicting. She didn’t know how she was going to handle not being with her. It was going to be a lot, that was for sure. It wouldn’t be the first time Nicole had to adjust, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips gently to Waverly’s forehead. Her skin was soft and relaxed.

When she pulled away, she watched Waverly’s eyelids flutter and open. She looked at Nicole, still in that morning haze.

Once she realized where she was and who she was with, a smile crept onto her lips and she snuggled even closer to Nicole and buried her face in the redhead’s neck.

“Morning,” Waverly mumbled, her words muffled by Nicole’s skin.

“Good morning,” Nicole chuckled as she tightened her arms around Waverly in a squeeze.

Waverly looked up at her with a smile that made Nicole’s heart race. She hooked her knuckle under Waverly’s chin to tilt her head back just a little bit for the perfect kissing angle.

“I have morning breath,” Waverly protested as she tried to back away from Nicole halfheartedly.

Nicole didn’t answer, she just rolled her eyes and kissed Waverly anyway. She didn’t care in the slightest. She just needed to kiss her girl.

Waverly kissed her back quickly, pulling away before Nicole could _really_ kiss her.

“Should we go get breakfast?” Nicole asked as she settled for another forehead kiss.

“Is it bad that I just don’t want to put clothes on to go get it?” Waverly asked.

“I’m not complaining,” Nicole smirked as she slid her hand down to pull Waverly’s thigh so that her leg wrapped around her.

It was Waverly’s turn to roll her eyes, but the blush on her cheeks didn’t go unnoticed.

“What if we take the party to my room and order room service?” Waverly suggested. “It’s complimentary,” she added in an advertising tone.

“We would sadly still need to get dressed to walk through the hallways.”

“Yeah, but once we get to my room, we can take all the clothes off again.” Waverly traced her finger up Nicole’s bicep until it was tangled in her hair.

“Sold,” Nicole exhaled Waverly pulled just slightly on the hair at the base of her skull.

Waverly rolled away from her to get out of bed. Nicole fell forward longingly, gathering the covers under her chin as she rested on her chest to watch Waverly as she stood and stretched with her hands high above her head.

Nicole could see every muscle Waverly had. They were all on display and she couldn’t ignore the way it made her feel. She wanted to touch all of the muscles, maybe even work a few if she had the chance.

“Are you looking at my ass?” Waverly asked. Nicole could hear the smirk in her voice.

“Maybe,” Nicole answered honestly as she grinned.

“Good,” Waverly replied as she _sashayed_ to the bathroom. She knew what she was doing, and Nicole was the lucky soul that got to enjoy it all.

Once Waverly was in the bathroom, Nicole made herself get up. She had packed most of her stuff the day before with the help of Waverly. Turns out she had a lot more room in her suitcase than she initially thought. She just packed it all wrong.

She grabbed the outfit she had planned to wear home and slipped it on quickly. She then opened her suitcase and pulled out one of the only clean shirts she had left along with a pair of sweatpants. They would be humongous on Waverly, but way more comfortable than the dress she had.

Nicole looked at herself in the mirror and saw that she had a severe case of bedhead, or maybe sex hair, or both. There was no way she was going to be able to fix it without a shower, so her ballcap would have to do.

“I like it when you dress like that,” she heard Waverly say from behind her. She was leaning up against the bathroom doorframe in only her underwear.

Nicole looked down at her outfit. All she had on was her Raptors jersey, joggers, and a backward cap. It wasn’t anything special, but it was her usually at-home outfit.

The real knock out was Waverly Earp leaning up against a doorframe all casual in her underwear. She had pulled her hair up into a high ponytail that somehow looked phenomenal with minimal effort. 

“I laid out some of my clothes for you so you wouldn’t have to put the dress back on,” Nicole managed to say while still ogling Waverly. “They’re clean, I promise.”

“Thanks, baby,” Waverly smirked as she walked over to the bed.

She took the Purgatory Softball tee shirt and pulled it over her head. When she pulled the sweatpants up to her waist, they bunched at the bottom with the extra length. Nicole couldn’t stop herself from laughing. Waverly looked like she was drowning in her clothes.

“This may be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Nicole laughed as she pulled out her phone to snap a picture.

Waverly stuck her tongue out but laughed along with Nicole.

Once Nicole had her picture, she dropped her phone back in her pocket. “Let me get the last of my things from the bathroom together and I’ll be ready,” Nicole said as she went into the bathroom.

She took her cap off and brushed her hair back the best she could. It was tangled but not too bad. Once she was done with that, she brushed her teeth quickly but thoroughly. She went through the rest of her quick routine and packed up everything as she went.

Once she zipped up her suitcase again, she looked around the room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

Waverly was watching her from the bed with sad eyes. Nicole held her hands out until Waverly took them so that she could be pulled into a hug.

“We need to talk about this,” Nicole spoke.

“Can we wait until after breakfast?” Waverly asked as she looked up at Nicole.

“Sure,” Nicole smiled. She leaned down and kissed Waverly quickly on the lips. “Can I bring my bag to your room?”

“Of course,” Waverly smiled as she let go of Nicole and started for the door.

Nicole looked around the room one last time before following her. She grabbed her bag and picked up her backpack. She slung it over her shoulder as she hit the lights with the other hand and followed Waverly out of the room.

**

“Come on, one more try!” Nicole laughed as she held the grape up.

Their breakfast had consisted mainly of fruit. Nicole did have waffles which were her favorite. But now she and Waverly were trying to see who could catch more food in their mouth.

Nicole had impressively caught two badly thrown grapes but almost had an eye taken out with a strawberry. Waverly had not caught anything, but Nicole had effectively somehow hit her in the nose with a grape. She said it wasn’t her fault, Waverly was just really bad at catching things in her mouth, but Waverly said otherwise. Apparently, Earp’s are very competitive, but so are Haught’s.

“One more,” Waverly giggled as she opened her mouth wide.

Nicole tried to give the grape plenty of arch this time. When she tossed it up, Waverly barely had to move for it to successfully fall into her mouth. Waverly lifted her arms in victory as did Nicole. They high fived and Nicole almost fell over in a laughing fit.

One they got to Waverly’s room, they ordered room service and, as promised, taken off most of their clothes. Nicole was left in her sports bra and joggers while Waverly had abandoned Nicole’s sweatpants but left on the t-shirt. Nicole liked the sight of Waverly in her oversized shirt.

“Question,” Waverly said once they had calmed down a bit.

She was sitting cross-legged on the bed with Nicole’s legs in her lap. Nicole had somehow angled herself to be laying down but not quite falling off the bed. She sometimes liked to lay in weird positions that were oddly comfortable. 

“Answer,” Nicole replied as she tossed a balled-up pair of socks up into the air and caught them.

“How do you feel about me posting our picture, or your picture, or something like that onto my social media?”

Nicole caught the socks and held onto them this time. She wasn’t sure what to say.

She didn’t want to hide their relationship by any means. In fact, she wanted to scream about it to everyone that would listen because she _somehow_ got a girl like Waverly Earp to be her girlfriend.

But the thought of thousands of people reacting to it, some maybe not so positively, was terrifying.

“It’s totally up to you,” Waverly said once Nicole didn’t respond. “You know what? Forget about it. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s a lot too soon. I don’t’ want to freak you out and some of them can be intense.”

“No, no,” Nicole said as she sat up. “It’s, um, it’s fine. I don’t want to hide our relationship shit. It’s just…”

“Weird?”

“Kind of,” Nicole nodded.

She looked over at Waverly who had tucked her phone away and was paying full attention to Nicole. She had a way of making Nicole feel heard and appreciated. It was different than what she was usually used to.

“Nicole, I’m not going to do anything your uncomfortable with.” Waverly reached out and took Nicole’s hand. Her thumb rubbed Nicole’s soothingly.

“I’m okay with it,” Nicole told her, and she meant it. To an extent. It would take some getting used to and she should probably change her social media settings to ‘private’ but it would happen eventually. Why not now?

“Promise?” Waverly asked again just to make sure. “Because it’s not something I have to do.”

“Yes,” Nicole smiled as she scooted closer to Waverly. “I promise.”

She leaned forward and captured Waverly’s lips. She tasted like grapes with a hint of orange from the juice she had been drinking.

The kiss started innocent enough, but when Waverly deepened the kiss and got up on her knees so that she was more in control, Nicole knew that she was in for something.

“Lay back,” Waverly exhaled as she pulled Nicole’s shirt that she had on over her head and dropped it to the floor beside the bed.

Nicole didn’t have to be asked twice. There was something about Waverly telling her what to do that really turned her on.

Once she was laid back, Waverly was immediately on top of her. Her thigh was slotted between Nicole’s, giving off just enough pressure to make it known that she was there, but not enough to do anything.

Waverly’s tongue was doing amazing things in her mouth. The way it curled around Nicole’s and rolled in a certain way that she just simply couldn’t explain.

Nicole had to do something with her hands. So, she moved them from where they had settled on Waverly’s back down to her butt. She squeezed and pulled, encouraging the small rocking motion Waverly had started naturally.

There was a stutter in Waverly’s kissing when Nicole did that. Like she felt the tiny bit of relief the motion caused. She pulled away from Nicole’s lips but reattached her own to Nicole’s neck.

Nicole’s breathing was heavy. All she could think about was the way Waverly moved against her. The speed that they had gone from tossing grapes at each other to _this_ was almost fast enough to give her whiplash. But she was not complaining.

Waverly started to kiss down. Her lips pressed against Nicole’s collarbone, in between her still covered breasts and then down her stomach.

“Wave,” Nicole breathed once she realized Waverly had no intention of stopping there. Especially when she slid her fingers past the waistband of Nicole’s pants and underwear before pulling them down with ease. “You don’t have to–” she tried to say but her words were lost when Waverly crawled off the bed and just simply looked at her.

There was a fire in her eyes. One even more intense than the night before. She stood by the edge of the bed, reached forward, grabbed Nicole, and pulled her towards her. Nicole had never been pulled or pushed around like that. She was usually the one doing the heavy lifting, so to speak.

But Waverly was strong, that much was for certain. Just the look of her muscles alone told anyone to not mess with her. Not that she would hurt a fly, but she definitely could if she needed to.

“Baby, I want to,” Waverly said as she dropped down to her knees on the floor between Nicole’s legs.

The sight alone absolutely ruined Nicole.

“I never got to taste you last night,” Waverly went on as she pulled Nicole even closer and positioned her left leg over her shoulder.

“Fuck,” Nicole exhaled as her arms simply gave out and she fell back to the bed.

She never took Waverly to be a dirty talker. It just didn’t seem like something she’d be in to. She was starting to learn that Waverly was more than she put on for people. In every way.

Waverly didn’t tease. Nicole definitely didn’t need it. Her tongue was against Nicole unexpectedly fast and it caused Nicole to arch her back and her heel to dig into Waverly’s shoulder blades. Her hand immediately flew to brunette locks as some ungodly moan escaped her lips.

Nicole had had her fair share of sex. Not that that was something to brag about. But when she was younger, she had a bit of a reputation in her hometown. When she went off to college, she did the college thing until she decided to join the police academy and she buckled down. Then, she had a long-term relationship.

But nothing in Nicole’s mind even compared to the way Waverly made her feel. Not now, not the night before, not just being with her daily. Nothing lived up to it, and she knew that she was in deep shit. Waverly already had her completely wrapped around her fingers (figuratively speaking), and it had only been a few short days.

Nicole felt the coil inside of her wind up impossibly tight before it finally snapped, and she lost all control of her body. She knew her thighs were clamped around Waverly’s head, holding her in place. She knew her hand was probably tangled a little too tightly into Waverly’s hair. But Waverly guided her through it, slowing her tongue down until she finally stopped, and Nicole was able to at least release her grip.

As Waverly stood, Nicole managed to open her eyes back up. She wasn’t sure when she had slammed them shut, but her body was still buzzing. Aftershocks periodically pulsing through her body.

She looked over at Waverly as the brunette crawled back over her. She watched as Waverly took the time to wipe just below her lip with her thumb and give Nicole a wicked grin.

Nicole needed her. She needed to make Waverly feel as good as she had just felt. Before Waverly could even make it to her lips to kiss her, Nicole had grabbed her by the hips and spun her so now she was on top.

The devilish grin on Waverly’s lips only grew as Nicole leaned down and kissed them. The taste of herself was overwhelming and mixed with the sweetness of Waverly.

She set a rhythm with her hips as she deepened the kiss. Her heart was still pounding from her own experience, and it wasn’t going to slow down. Especially when Waverly made those little noises like she was doing.

Nicole let her hand trail down to Waverly’s breasts, pushing the bra out of the way to get better access. Waverly stopped kissing her, but her hot breath still graced Nicole’s lips.

She looked at her. Waverly’s eyebrows were knitted together, and her eyes were squeezed shut. Nicole let her hand slide further down her body until they slid past Waverly’s panty line and to her core.

Nicole traced a few circles to ease Waverly into it.

“Look at me,” she told Waverly in a low, breathy voice.

As soon as Waverly opened her eyes, Nicole slipped her fingers in and curled them. Waverly’s eyes slammed shut as a loud moan escaped her lips.

Nicole worked her fingers and her hips together to make Waverly cry out her name. She felt Waverly’s entire body arch up into hers before it fell back to the bed, limp.

Nicole removed her fingers from Waverly and laid on the bed next to her. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest. She lifted her wet fingers to her mouth, sucking the juices off.

“Fuck. Don’t do that to me,” Waverly exhaled. Nicole knew she was watching her, and a grin spread across her lips as she kept her middle finger between her teeth.

Nicole looked over at her, shifting her body so that she was laying on her side. She reached forward and tucked some of Waverly’s hair behind her ear.

“You don’t like it when I do that?” Nicole asked, knowing damn well what Waverly meant.

“I like it too much,” Waverly replied as she shifted closer to Nicole. She tilted Nicole’s chin up with her knuckle and kissed her. “And if you keep doing that, you will miss your flight.”

“That wouldn’t be the worst thing,” Nicole whispered as she got lost in Waverly’s eyes.

“When will we see each other again?” Waverly asked, her voice barely audible.

“Whenever we can,” Nicole answered. “Soon, hopefully.”

“Is it too dorky if I send you my calendar?” Waverly asked after a beat. “Because I have everything planned out for the next few months.”

Nicole chuckled, “Of course you do.”

“Does that make us officially official? If we share our calendars?”

“Are we not already officially official?” Nicole asked, still grinning. “I kind of thought last night and five minutes ago proved that.”

“We are,” Waverly smiled as she snuggled up against Nicole. “It’s just so adult-ish, I guess, sharing calendars.”

Nicole didn’t reply. She kissed the top of Waverly’s head and held her close. She didn’t want to leave, but she knew the real world was waiting for her back in Purgatory.

“Send it to me.”

**

The airport was busy. People rushing to get to their flights or their loved ones. It was intense. Nicole was always on high alert in a crowded place like an airport. Her senses were always tuned in.

She and Waverly were standing in the middle of it outside of security. Wynonna was waiting a few feet away at the gift shop, browsing through the local t-shirt and magnets.

Waverly was avoiding eye contact. She was chewing on her bottom lip, looking at everyone besides Nicole. She felt like she was learning a lot about Waverly at this moment.

“Hey,” she said making Waverly finally look at her. She had to go, or she was going to miss her flight. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I know,” Waverly mumbled. She took both of Nicole’s hands in her own. Her bottom lip quivering, she put on a brave smile. “I know,” she said again but trying to sound more convincing.

“We’re going to see each other in a month,” Nicole reminded her.

They had discussed it just before they left the hotel. Waverly would go to her next two cons and then come to Purgatory for a little while. She had some time off before the next con and she had decided that she wanted to spend that time with Nicole in her hometown. She even mentioned trying to talk Wynonna into joining her.

“Just one month,” Waverly nodded. She looked away and over towards Wynonna. The tears in her eyes were threatening to fall and Nicole could see her doing everything to keep that from happening.

“Hey,” Nicole said, reaching up and cradling Waverly’s face in her hands. They locked eyes and when Waverly blinked, a tear trailed down her cheek. “I’m so glad I met you, Waverly Earp.”

Waverly laughed and Nicole did too. That smile was everything.

She leaned down and captured Waverly’s lips in a searing kiss. She tried to convey everything that she could with that one kiss.

When she pulled away, Waverly kissed her again quickly, and then once more before she let go and Nicole backed away.

Wynonna was already there, waiting beside Waverly. Nicole locked eyes with her, and Wynonna gave her a nod. Assuring her she could take it from here.

Nicole turned and walked towards the security check. She went through the process, periodically looking over her shoulder at Waverly who would give her a small wave each time.

Finally, once she had her backpack and was through security, she looked back at Waverly one last time.

She was crying but smiling. She waved at Nicole again, putting her hand to her lips and blowing her a kiss. Nicole did the same and watched Wynonna wrap her arms around Waverly.

Nicole turned away and walked towards her terminal. She reached up to wipe away her own escaped tear. Waverly wasn’t with her anymore, she didn’t have to put on a strong front. She let the tears fall silently and started counting the days until she could see her Waverly again.


End file.
